Thursday 18 December 2008, London - Corby, England
Well the Bond Mobile did a good job and we had a good nights sleep in the suburbs. Then we were off to Macca's to use their ablutions and wi-fi and find out where we had to go to get our Chinese Visa. We had tried to apply for it in August when we were in Australia, but they had just changed the Visa application processing to a one month visa from time of application, which meant that it would have been out of date by the time we got to China in January, so we were advised by our travel agent to wait until we got to London and apply for it there. So checking the address of the embassy and the unthinkable happened... you now have to log your application on the net, and register for your appointment online (at least one day waiting), and need to have a medical exam as a foreigner. So we pretended we didn't read it, and planned our way to get some parking near a station and get the tube to Chancery Lane. While waiting at the station a couple of trains went by that were absolutely flying. It seemed like they were going 200km/hr+. It really takes the wind out of you when your standing on the platform and not expecting a rocket to creep up behind you. I'm sure the Egyptians would really get a kick out of it. Getting off at Chancery Lane we were finally able to see the black cabs and red double deckers around the streets and actually feel like we were in London. At the embassy we were greeted with a polite how do you do, along with a what is your registration number and appointment time. Said we were from Australia and that when we had started our travels in September we were advised to come straight to the embassy. Didn't seem to be a problem at all and 5 minutes later our application form was accepted and we were told we could come back in 3 days and pick up our passports. All seemed too easy so hopefully it is and everything goes to plan. Picked up a campervan guide on our way back and hit the road heading to Birmingham then onto Corby to see Pete's long lost family. We got into town about 10.30pm, and were so tired from driving that we found a quiet street, pulled up, and went to sleep in the back of the van.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Oh My God We're Late
Wednesday 17 December 2008 Dublin, Ireland - Heathrow, England
Had a lovely sleep in, and relaxing start to the morning as our flight to Heathrow wasn't departing until 1.15. That was until I re-read the ticket and realised it said 11.15, and it was already 9.30. Mad panic and Pete in full belief we were going to miss the flight we then did a mad dash to get packed, check out, drive to the airport, check back the hire car, and check into our flight. I don't know how we did it, but we did it, and all by 10.30 (again without a map and for those of you who know Irish Streets ... yes the ones without names on them ... this is no mean feat). The flight was boarding at 10.40 so we didn't even have to run to the gate. Flight was a quick hour, then spent just as long circling Heathrow. I think when they don't tell you why they are circling it stresses you even more. It could have been a terrorist attack, or the pilot had to return his plane empty, or others were cutting in his lane, or he simply couldn't find the run way? - maybe they didn't have a name on it. Eventually landed and then had to wait just as long for our bags, and then try to check out some car hire companies. This is something I would normally have organised well in advance however, with our experience with our car hire in Ireland we found out that there were much better deals at the airport and they could explain all those extra charges before hitting your credit card with it. Well, good plan, but didn't quite work out as well as we liked. Only one guy at a counter and he quoted us £750 for 16 days for a budget compact car. Yep a car that sardines would feel uncomfortable in without their luggage. Also turns out no-one in London owns a car, and they rent over holidays, so lots of car hire companies were out of cars. So got on the net, made a few calls, and another hour later had a deal with Wicked Campervans for £600. So we thought if we get the camper then we don't have to pay for accommodation either so we will save a bit more money. While we were on the net competing with our battery time on the laptop we saw a young fella opposite us fall asleep on a seat with his luggage. Wasn't long before he was confronted by 2 policemen branded with machines guns giving him the third degree. You could see them going through his passport, tickets, asking heaps of questions, then giving him a piece of paper, then escorted out of the airport. Who knows what was on the paper, but note to self ... don't fall asleep at Heathrow. Next on the agenda was finding Wicked Campervans. Our young Tina at the office seemed to think it was real easy to get there but after catching 2 trains, and walking 20 minutes with all of our luggage not knowing if we were going in the right direction it was not as easy as one might think. But eventually we got there, and were handed the keys to our very own campervan with '007' plastered down the side with 'Licensed to Thrill' on the back. Turns out that Wicked Campervans all have a theme, ours was James Bond, but we could have easily got 'Groovy Baby Yeah', or 'Yaba Daba Doo'. As soon as we turned out of the car park we were getting toots and waves. Obviously we are hero's here and everyone is glad to see us.
To have some sort of normality after a crazy day we found ourselves near some cinemas and thought we would catch 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. The special effects are amazing, but not everyone enjoyed it with one girl saying to her boyfriend 'dat woz crup' on our way out.
Next on our agenda was to find a place to pull up for the night, and we drove around a little while until we found a dead-end quiet street, found a spot, drew the curtains, and bunked in.
Had a lovely sleep in, and relaxing start to the morning as our flight to Heathrow wasn't departing until 1.15. That was until I re-read the ticket and realised it said 11.15, and it was already 9.30. Mad panic and Pete in full belief we were going to miss the flight we then did a mad dash to get packed, check out, drive to the airport, check back the hire car, and check into our flight. I don't know how we did it, but we did it, and all by 10.30 (again without a map and for those of you who know Irish Streets ... yes the ones without names on them ... this is no mean feat). The flight was boarding at 10.40 so we didn't even have to run to the gate. Flight was a quick hour, then spent just as long circling Heathrow. I think when they don't tell you why they are circling it stresses you even more. It could have been a terrorist attack, or the pilot had to return his plane empty, or others were cutting in his lane, or he simply couldn't find the run way? - maybe they didn't have a name on it. Eventually landed and then had to wait just as long for our bags, and then try to check out some car hire companies. This is something I would normally have organised well in advance however, with our experience with our car hire in Ireland we found out that there were much better deals at the airport and they could explain all those extra charges before hitting your credit card with it. Well, good plan, but didn't quite work out as well as we liked. Only one guy at a counter and he quoted us £750 for 16 days for a budget compact car. Yep a car that sardines would feel uncomfortable in without their luggage. Also turns out no-one in London owns a car, and they rent over holidays, so lots of car hire companies were out of cars. So got on the net, made a few calls, and another hour later had a deal with Wicked Campervans for £600. So we thought if we get the camper then we don't have to pay for accommodation either so we will save a bit more money. While we were on the net competing with our battery time on the laptop we saw a young fella opposite us fall asleep on a seat with his luggage. Wasn't long before he was confronted by 2 policemen branded with machines guns giving him the third degree. You could see them going through his passport, tickets, asking heaps of questions, then giving him a piece of paper, then escorted out of the airport. Who knows what was on the paper, but note to self ... don't fall asleep at Heathrow. Next on the agenda was finding Wicked Campervans. Our young Tina at the office seemed to think it was real easy to get there but after catching 2 trains, and walking 20 minutes with all of our luggage not knowing if we were going in the right direction it was not as easy as one might think. But eventually we got there, and were handed the keys to our very own campervan with '007' plastered down the side with 'Licensed to Thrill' on the back. Turns out that Wicked Campervans all have a theme, ours was James Bond, but we could have easily got 'Groovy Baby Yeah', or 'Yaba Daba Doo'. As soon as we turned out of the car park we were getting toots and waves. Obviously we are hero's here and everyone is glad to see us.
To have some sort of normality after a crazy day we found ourselves near some cinemas and thought we would catch 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. The special effects are amazing, but not everyone enjoyed it with one girl saying to her boyfriend 'dat woz crup' on our way out.
Next on our agenda was to find a place to pull up for the night, and we drove around a little while until we found a dead-end quiet street, found a spot, drew the curtains, and bunked in.
Guiness is Good
Tuesday 16 December 2008, Dublin, Ireland
Got a bus into the city and had a long walk to the Guiness Brew House. We kind of got a little lost along the way, but there were enough Guiness keg trucks to follow to find our way there. The weather was really drizzly, all the better to get indoors with, and the Guiness Brewery Tour at St James Gate is one of the best Brewery experiences I've ever had. It has 9 floors of interactive displays where people walk themselves through the tour. By the time you arrive on the 7th you get taught how to pour your very own Guiness, then of course, have to drink it. For someone who doesn't really drink Guiness that much, this was the best Guiness I have tasted. Pete of course was in 7th heaven (is that why they have it on the 7th floor?), and then we went up to the 9th for the amazing view. Back down the road again and headed off into Templebar where we ended up for about 5 hours, chopping and changing from one pub to the next to listen to different types of Irish music. As one band would finish, we'd head off to the next pub, and another would be starting. Absolutely fabulous night.
Got a bus into the city and had a long walk to the Guiness Brew House. We kind of got a little lost along the way, but there were enough Guiness keg trucks to follow to find our way there. The weather was really drizzly, all the better to get indoors with, and the Guiness Brewery Tour at St James Gate is one of the best Brewery experiences I've ever had. It has 9 floors of interactive displays where people walk themselves through the tour. By the time you arrive on the 7th you get taught how to pour your very own Guiness, then of course, have to drink it. For someone who doesn't really drink Guiness that much, this was the best Guiness I have tasted. Pete of course was in 7th heaven (is that why they have it on the 7th floor?), and then we went up to the 9th for the amazing view. Back down the road again and headed off into Templebar where we ended up for about 5 hours, chopping and changing from one pub to the next to listen to different types of Irish music. As one band would finish, we'd head off to the next pub, and another would be starting. Absolutely fabulous night.
The Wall
Monday 15 December 2008, Belfast - Dublin, Ireland
No sign of the Aussie Boy arriving back last night. The backpackers has a curfew of 2am, so hopefully he made a 'friend' and stayed at their place, and wasn't stranded out on the street. Had a quick and cheap breakie, and then wanted to do some looking around before heading off to Dublin. The one thing we had been recommended by a few people to do in Belfast was a Black Taxi Tour, and now I'll be recommending it to others. This was absolutely magnificent. The driver we had was born on Shanklin Road and was able to go into great detail of the history of the conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants. He took us to the murals painted on the housing commission houses just off Shanklin Road where people paint murals to honor those who have died, and use art to remind people of what has happened in these neighbourhoods. He took us to the wall that divides Dublin into the Catholic side and Protestant side, and the sections that have gates which open at 5am and close at 9pm, splitting the city down the middle from the hills to the city. We stopped and signed the wall, something I wouldn't normally do, but this is a sign of supporting the movement of peace and congratulating the people of Belfast for working so hard to come together and move forward. He took us to the Catholic side against the wall, where the houses have chicken wire from the roof extended to the wall so that when home made bombs were thrown over the wall they would roll down the chicken wire and away from the house. The wall even had to be extended higher twice to limit people being able to throw stuff either side. He told us stories of things he had witnessed, of bombings, of children dying in front of him. It was a very moving experience, It has been sometime since violence has been seen in Belfast, and it is such a beautiful city that hopefully as every day passes the wonderful people of Belfast will continue in their journey of living in peace.
Arrived back to our hostel, with a little more perspective of the world that these people were living in than before, and so grateful that we live in Australia.
Time to hit the road again and head to Dublin. Our plan was to find somewhere north of Dublin, quiet like, to settle and be able to head into Dublin on Tuesday before our departure on Wednesday. But as we got closer, we ended up in the heart of Dublin in Templebar checking out prices of backpackers. 70 pound for a hostel in a shared room, was the cheapest we could get, then we would have to park our car across the river and pay for parking as well. Got to be joking. We headed south, trying to find a hotel I had seen advertising good rates in lastminute.com and eventually got there by basically following our nose (did I mention we didn't use a satnav through Ireland? we just had a basic map of the country). So their rate was $59pound per night, 4 star hotel, with private room including bath and free parking ... mmm which one do we go for? Checked in, had a bath, guiness and fish & chips down in the bar, and off to a well appreciated cozy bed.
No sign of the Aussie Boy arriving back last night. The backpackers has a curfew of 2am, so hopefully he made a 'friend' and stayed at their place, and wasn't stranded out on the street. Had a quick and cheap breakie, and then wanted to do some looking around before heading off to Dublin. The one thing we had been recommended by a few people to do in Belfast was a Black Taxi Tour, and now I'll be recommending it to others. This was absolutely magnificent. The driver we had was born on Shanklin Road and was able to go into great detail of the history of the conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants. He took us to the murals painted on the housing commission houses just off Shanklin Road where people paint murals to honor those who have died, and use art to remind people of what has happened in these neighbourhoods. He took us to the wall that divides Dublin into the Catholic side and Protestant side, and the sections that have gates which open at 5am and close at 9pm, splitting the city down the middle from the hills to the city. We stopped and signed the wall, something I wouldn't normally do, but this is a sign of supporting the movement of peace and congratulating the people of Belfast for working so hard to come together and move forward. He took us to the Catholic side against the wall, where the houses have chicken wire from the roof extended to the wall so that when home made bombs were thrown over the wall they would roll down the chicken wire and away from the house. The wall even had to be extended higher twice to limit people being able to throw stuff either side. He told us stories of things he had witnessed, of bombings, of children dying in front of him. It was a very moving experience, It has been sometime since violence has been seen in Belfast, and it is such a beautiful city that hopefully as every day passes the wonderful people of Belfast will continue in their journey of living in peace.
Arrived back to our hostel, with a little more perspective of the world that these people were living in than before, and so grateful that we live in Australia.
Time to hit the road again and head to Dublin. Our plan was to find somewhere north of Dublin, quiet like, to settle and be able to head into Dublin on Tuesday before our departure on Wednesday. But as we got closer, we ended up in the heart of Dublin in Templebar checking out prices of backpackers. 70 pound for a hostel in a shared room, was the cheapest we could get, then we would have to park our car across the river and pay for parking as well. Got to be joking. We headed south, trying to find a hotel I had seen advertising good rates in lastminute.com and eventually got there by basically following our nose (did I mention we didn't use a satnav through Ireland? we just had a basic map of the country). So their rate was $59pound per night, 4 star hotel, with private room including bath and free parking ... mmm which one do we go for? Checked in, had a bath, guiness and fish & chips down in the bar, and off to a well appreciated cozy bed.
Derry, or is it Londonderry?
Sunday 14 December 2008 Derry - Belfast, Ireland
When going to Derry you cannot help but notice a huge wall surrounding the city centre. This 9 foot deep wall has been guarding the town for hundreds of years, and because of this Derry is sometimes known as the Virgin City (because its walls have never been breached - charming). So looking at this enormous wall, you cannot leave Derry without walking the wall. The wall is so wide there is a path atop it which would be wide enough for a car to drive around. There has also apparently been a fight for years about the town being called Derry or Londonderry. It was called Derry, then when the English came over 'London' was added. So there are some that insist it is called Derry, some that say Londonderry. There is a radio station called 'Stroke' because in the newspapers it must be referred to as Derry/Londonderry. And the BBC when reporting on the town say Londonderry in the first reference, then Derry every reference after. My goodness. We then travelled north to Bushmills to stop for a whisky tasting, and then onto Belfast for the night. We checked into this little backpackers above a internet cafe and headed straight down to the centre of town where they have a big Ferris Wheel. The square was filled with stalls serving food, beer and crafts. It seemed that most people were having lots of fun and happy to be having a good time. On our way home we, got a bit lost, explored some other streets, and realized that there are some interesting characters on the streets of Belfast. We saw one guy just walk across the street and start accusing another of looking at him a funny way ... time to walk faster. We ended up at a bar around the corner from our hostel and we ran into an Aussie boy we had met earlier in our dorm when we checked in. After having a few pints we found out that the entertainment wouldn't get started for another 3 hours, so we headed back with some 'travellers' to have in the TV room.
When going to Derry you cannot help but notice a huge wall surrounding the city centre. This 9 foot deep wall has been guarding the town for hundreds of years, and because of this Derry is sometimes known as the Virgin City (because its walls have never been breached - charming). So looking at this enormous wall, you cannot leave Derry without walking the wall. The wall is so wide there is a path atop it which would be wide enough for a car to drive around. There has also apparently been a fight for years about the town being called Derry or Londonderry. It was called Derry, then when the English came over 'London' was added. So there are some that insist it is called Derry, some that say Londonderry. There is a radio station called 'Stroke' because in the newspapers it must be referred to as Derry/Londonderry. And the BBC when reporting on the town say Londonderry in the first reference, then Derry every reference after. My goodness. We then travelled north to Bushmills to stop for a whisky tasting, and then onto Belfast for the night. We checked into this little backpackers above a internet cafe and headed straight down to the centre of town where they have a big Ferris Wheel. The square was filled with stalls serving food, beer and crafts. It seemed that most people were having lots of fun and happy to be having a good time. On our way home we, got a bit lost, explored some other streets, and realized that there are some interesting characters on the streets of Belfast. We saw one guy just walk across the street and start accusing another of looking at him a funny way ... time to walk faster. We ended up at a bar around the corner from our hostel and we ran into an Aussie boy we had met earlier in our dorm when we checked in. After having a few pints we found out that the entertainment wouldn't get started for another 3 hours, so we headed back with some 'travellers' to have in the TV room.
The beautiful Cliffs of Moher
Saturday 13 December 2008, Cliffs of Moher - Derry, Ireland
Overcast, blue skies, overcast, grey skies, blue skies, a light shower of hail, and all before 8:30am. Our night was pretty cold and lonely in a hostel with 50 odd beds and we were the only ones there. The caretakers weren't even there. The place was pretty cold, and as you get restless in the morning and you know you should be making a move, you start to look forward to a nice warm shower to get you going. Which wasn't to be at this hostel where the temperature was set to sub zero, along with a timer of 10 seconds and then it switched off. Shivering we set off for the Cliffs of Moher which we could now see thank goodness after a night of heavy fog. The Cliffs are awe inspiring as they team high up against the green grassy fields, with the crashing waves below. Its kind of like the great ocean road, but twice as high. Then the real driving began as we set our sights for Derry, home of Bloody Sunday. We passed through Sligo on our way, stopping for lunch overlooking the Garavogue River. The speed of the river is incredible. Funny things were also happening in the parking lot, where gypsies park their caravan in a space and live in the parking lot. I suppose its pretty cheap rent for 3 pound a day. A little girl emerged from one of the caravans and asked Pete 'can you give me something?' and held out her hand, Pete replied 'what would you like me to give you?' and surprised she ran away. Heading off, there were plenty of little towns along the way that it would have been great to stop, but to get to Derry before sundown needed some pedal to the metal. We got in at 5pm, and the sun had gone down. A lap around, and we finally found the hostel we were looking for and got ourselves settled in.
Overcast, blue skies, overcast, grey skies, blue skies, a light shower of hail, and all before 8:30am. Our night was pretty cold and lonely in a hostel with 50 odd beds and we were the only ones there. The caretakers weren't even there. The place was pretty cold, and as you get restless in the morning and you know you should be making a move, you start to look forward to a nice warm shower to get you going. Which wasn't to be at this hostel where the temperature was set to sub zero, along with a timer of 10 seconds and then it switched off. Shivering we set off for the Cliffs of Moher which we could now see thank goodness after a night of heavy fog. The Cliffs are awe inspiring as they team high up against the green grassy fields, with the crashing waves below. Its kind of like the great ocean road, but twice as high. Then the real driving began as we set our sights for Derry, home of Bloody Sunday. We passed through Sligo on our way, stopping for lunch overlooking the Garavogue River. The speed of the river is incredible. Funny things were also happening in the parking lot, where gypsies park their caravan in a space and live in the parking lot. I suppose its pretty cheap rent for 3 pound a day. A little girl emerged from one of the caravans and asked Pete 'can you give me something?' and held out her hand, Pete replied 'what would you like me to give you?' and surprised she ran away. Heading off, there were plenty of little towns along the way that it would have been great to stop, but to get to Derry before sundown needed some pedal to the metal. We got in at 5pm, and the sun had gone down. A lap around, and we finally found the hostel we were looking for and got ourselves settled in.
Medieval here we come
Friday 12 December 2008, Glin - Cliffs of Mohar
Today we headed for County Claire. My great grandmother was from this county but we don't know exactly where. From Glin we made our way up the coastal N69 heading toward Limerick until we reached King Johns Castle on the banks of the River Shannon. The castle is pretty big, and where they found bones on the site, they have now built the visitor information centre suspended over the top so excavations can still happen without anything being disturbed by the weather. After King Johns we headed up the road to Bunratty Castle where they also have a folk park with cottages decked out as they would at the turn of the century. As we went into each of the cottages I could see my mothers furniture as she loves antiques, and particularly of this style, and I wondered if my great grandmother would have had a cottage similar one of them. The castle is like a large tower with plenty of rooms inside, including bedrooms, a library, kitchen and of course dinning areas. To explore them all we wound our way up 4 tiny spiral staircases in each corner, which opened on different levels to different rooms. On the ground floor, there was also opening to a dungeon which appeared to have a 10 foot drop to the bottom with no light at all. Great for those pesky visitors who complain about your cooking. They even have medieval nights here which I'm sure would be lots of fun. Comparing the two, Bunratty appeared more to be a home rather than King Johns which appeared more like a fotress. After leaving Bunratty we dropped in down the road for some Honey Meade and some ungodly alcoholic vapours which burn the inside of your nostrils where you take a sniff. Happy with me whiskey thanks.
We then headed north west on the N18-N85 toward the Cliffs of Mohar, hoping to catch a view before the sun went down. By the time we got there the fog had settled in, as had the cold, and we decided to head back to Lehinch to settle for the night in a hostel so we could see it in the morning. At this time of the year nearly everything is closed, but we found a corner shop open where we could get some basics to make some dinner. They also sold alcohol so we grabbed a bottle of Jacobs Creek to wash down our sandwiches and there behold in the fridge we spotted some XXXX. Couldn't believe that it could make it all the way from Brisbane, into this little tiny Irish dot on the map ... and then to have the next guy come into the shop and head straight for it and buy it. There you go.
Today we headed for County Claire. My great grandmother was from this county but we don't know exactly where. From Glin we made our way up the coastal N69 heading toward Limerick until we reached King Johns Castle on the banks of the River Shannon. The castle is pretty big, and where they found bones on the site, they have now built the visitor information centre suspended over the top so excavations can still happen without anything being disturbed by the weather. After King Johns we headed up the road to Bunratty Castle where they also have a folk park with cottages decked out as they would at the turn of the century. As we went into each of the cottages I could see my mothers furniture as she loves antiques, and particularly of this style, and I wondered if my great grandmother would have had a cottage similar one of them. The castle is like a large tower with plenty of rooms inside, including bedrooms, a library, kitchen and of course dinning areas. To explore them all we wound our way up 4 tiny spiral staircases in each corner, which opened on different levels to different rooms. On the ground floor, there was also opening to a dungeon which appeared to have a 10 foot drop to the bottom with no light at all. Great for those pesky visitors who complain about your cooking. They even have medieval nights here which I'm sure would be lots of fun. Comparing the two, Bunratty appeared more to be a home rather than King Johns which appeared more like a fotress. After leaving Bunratty we dropped in down the road for some Honey Meade and some ungodly alcoholic vapours which burn the inside of your nostrils where you take a sniff. Happy with me whiskey thanks.
We then headed north west on the N18-N85 toward the Cliffs of Mohar, hoping to catch a view before the sun went down. By the time we got there the fog had settled in, as had the cold, and we decided to head back to Lehinch to settle for the night in a hostel so we could see it in the morning. At this time of the year nearly everything is closed, but we found a corner shop open where we could get some basics to make some dinner. They also sold alcohol so we grabbed a bottle of Jacobs Creek to wash down our sandwiches and there behold in the fridge we spotted some XXXX. Couldn't believe that it could make it all the way from Brisbane, into this little tiny Irish dot on the map ... and then to have the next guy come into the shop and head straight for it and buy it. There you go.
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