Last week in – Part 1 – of this three part series on Scotland – I talk about what to do in Aberdeen city.
We over-nighted in a Hobbit at a hostel in Inverness. A Hobbit is a round wooden dwelling that looks much like a sauna inside and out. It cost £45 for three of us. It has no sanitation. I had to keep costs low and went for price over quality when making the choices for our accommodation. I wouldn’t sleep in a Hobbit again but at least now I know what they are like.
Loch Ness
I found all our accommodation in the – Scottish Independent Hostels – guide. I was surprised at how many much older people stay in hostels. I always thought they were only for youngsters. You can also try – Scottish Youth Hostels. Prices were between £16 – £19 per person. We shared a kitchen, living area and bathrooms with other residents. All our rooms were basic but clean and comfortable. You will hear other guests moving about and talking but it wasn’t a hardship.
Maybe we were lucky.
A Hobbitt
We didn’t hang about in – Inverness – but we did take a drive down and back up both sides of – Loch Ness. A quick photo moment at – John O Groats, the most northerly point of the mainland, which is also a must. But we had to get to Scrabster to make the ferry in time. There are a few ferries that run from Scotland to Orkney. They don’t all carry vehicles and the smaller ones don’t run in bad weather. I booked in advance with – North Link Ferries. They were the most expensive but the week before I booked they had stormy weather which affected the ferries. I wasn’t going to take a chance on a smaller ferry. Northlink berth in Stromness and we booked to stay at – Brown’s Hostel – so it also made sense to go straight to – Stromness.
Highland Park Distillery Kirkwall Orkney
We took the last ferry over which departed promptly at 19.00pm. Make sure you allow 60 – 90 minutes to sort out paperwork and queues at the ferry terminal. Once our car was parked we went upstairs to the restaurant and had a glass of wine and a hot cooked meal. There was a fair swell but nothing serious. Orkney has 200 islands and the landscapes are totally unique to anything I have ever seen before. We watched the bigger and smaller islands passing by the ferry. Look out for the Old Man of Hoy, a tall free-standing red stone column off – Hoy Island.
St Magnus Cathedral Kirkwall Orkney
Stromness has narrow stone streets that run through the heart of the town. Only one car can drive at a time. We found space to park and I went to bed early to read the travel guide. My two friends went walk-about and met a lonesome local chap who regaled them with stories.
The next day we set off to see the neolithic sights on the west mainland. The wind had gathered momentum. It was howling gales and raining on and off. We struggled to stand upright but we came to see – and see we did.
John O Groats
The – Standing Stones of Steness, Barnyard stone age village, Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae and Skaill House – the manor where Skara Brae was discovered. I had hoped to visit – Orkney Brewery – and the – Brough of Birsay – but it was not to be. We did manage to squeeze in a look-see of the cliffs at Yesnabay. You can get an – Orkney Explorer Pass – which gives you discounts on the main attractions if you know you will manage to see them all.
Skara Brae Orkney
We went back to Stromness and had a glass of wine at – Ferry Inn – before heading back to Brown’s where we made ourselves an evening meal. The next day we set off for Kirkwall. Again, we got sucked into exploring and never got past Kirkwall. En route we visited the Round Kirk, Earl’s Bu and the Orkneyinsaga Centre.
Old Man of Hoy Hoy Island Orkney
In – Kirkwall – we saw – St Magnus Cathedral, myriad craft shops and Bishops Palace. Lunch was at – Judith Glue – where emphasis is on local produce. We also did a whiskey tasting at – Highland Park Distillery. The whiskey tours run on the hour, every hour. We just missed the last tour so we walked up to the – Lynnfield Hotel – where we had a pot of tea and big, round, yummy, home-made shortbread biscuits for around £6 for three of us.
Next week in – Part 3 – the focus will be on the road trip south via Wester Ross, a night in Ben Nevis, a castle in Perthshire and the trip back to Aberdeen via Deeside.
Caledonian Canal Inverness Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Ever wondered what happens when you are bumped off a flight? I’ve been bumped twice and each experience was completely different.
The first time was coming back from an amazing overland road trip in May 2011 that covered Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Read about that trip – here. I arrived at Johannesburg International Airport to catch a South African Airways flight back to Cape Town for the final part of my trip. I used air-miles to book this flight. At the check-in desk I duly produced my printed booking sheet complete with reference number. I also had a text message confirming the flight on my mobile phone.
South Africa Airways – image source timeslive.co.za
The bloke at the desk clicked away at his keyboard and then gave me back my printout and told me I wasn’t booked on the flight. I can still recall how calm he was about the whole thing. And you can imagine how shocked I was. It was totally unexpected. And worse, this guy was completely unmoved by the fact that I had arrived with my bags prepared to fly and was now stranded without a flight.
He made no attempt to help me whatsoever and no real explanation as to how this had happened either other than I was supposed to have confirmed this flight in person somewhere. How was I meant to know this? Well he didn’t know and I will never know. I managed to buy a last minute Mango ticket to fly back home and I have never flown SAA ever again.
Cape Town International Airport check-in
The next time I was bumped with my husband. We were coming back from London Heathrow to Cape Town on a British Airways flight in September 2012. We checked in early. Always do. The lady behind the check-in desk asked if we would be willing to be bumped as the flight was overbooked. At first we weren’t that keen but then she explained that we would be compensated well, in cash, in the currency of our choice, or we could take slightly more money in flight vouchers. Plus BA covered all expenses relating to our night stuck in London. Suddenly, we were a lot more willing.
We had no holiday booked and planned, no family matters to attend to and no fixed business agenda. Unlike some very unhappy travelers who arrived to hear the same thing. We were given a voucher to grab a coffee and we lurked with our luggage at a cafe until just before the flight was due to take off. Then there was a mad scramble to squeeze people onto the flight. A few people who thought they were staying suddenly found themselves flying after all. And that’s the thing, you don’t know if you are staying or going until 5 minutes before the flight leaves.
Once the flight had gone, we all queued up while the BA staff found us space in local hotels and allocated us travel vouchers, meal vouchers and accommodation vouchers. That took quite a while and by the time we finally got to our hotel it was late.
British Airways – image source guardian.co.uk
The next day we couldn’t really do much as we had to check in again for our flight back to SA. Turns out South African Airways had cancelled their daily flight from Cape Town to London. British Airways were the only airline doing a direct flight. So no surprise when we arrived at check-in and were asked to be bumped again. We figured we were making money doing nothing and so we went for it. And we opted to be bumped for a third night.
By day four we wanted to go home. Although BA take good care of you, you end up hanging around your hotel and then hanging around some more at the airport. Three nights was our limit.
One can’t help notice that one airline is regularly overbooked and another airline canceled it’s flight on the exact same route. Perhaps customer service has something to do with it?
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Last week in – Part 1 – I talked about best time to visit and where we stayed.
What to do all day in Mauritius? You could lie on the beach or recline on a lounger at one of the pools and catch up on your reading while soaking up the sun. Or you could get a bit more active and try one of the many sports on offer such as volleyball, beach football, bocce ball, water-skiing, sailing, windsurfing, kayaking or water polo. Our hotel offered excursions such as glass-bottom boat tours, snorkeling and scuba diving.
Lunch at the national park
Reps from various day trip and excursion companies punt their products in the hotel reception. You page through catalogues and compare prices. We decided to try a day trip out to sea on a boat with a midday seafood BBQ. We made sure we let them know that I’m vegetarian and checked when we boarded the boat that they had me down as a veggie. All good.
Small beach near our resort
Off we went out to sea. They dropped anchor and people were swimming and snorkeling while the rest of us lazed on board the boat.The guys organising the excursion popped the sparkly and fired up the BBQ. Come lunch time – all they had for me – was a white bread roll and a portion of salad. Everyone else was piling their plates with ‘eat all you can’ fish, lobster and prawns. We paid the same price as the others and it’s not like I could go elsewhere to eat. The guys on the boat were unmoved by my plight. I was furious and complained bitterly to the hotel when we returned. The hotel tried to make right and gave us a complimentary glass bottomed boat ride which didn’t appease me one bit.
There are so many excursions and outings to choose from. Try deep sea fishing, safari jeep trips, scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, quad biking trips, helicopter flips, hiking, skydiving, horse riding, mountain climbing, para sailing, water skiing, visiting nearby islands, sea kayaking, a submarine safari, rock climbing . . I would say there’s actually too much choice.
Out to swim and snorkel on a boat safari
We booked a few spa treatments at the hotel and they were good. It might be because the Mauritian population is predominantly of Indian descent that the focus at our hotel was on Ayurveda. Treatments included Indian Ayurvedic Head Massage, Balinese Massage, Reflexology, Royal Thai Massage, and Hot Stone Therapy. I also had a manicure and pedicure.
Greenie at a Hindu temple
We did a day trip alone with a local guide come taxi driver He drove us around the island taking in the capital city Port Louis, Grand Baie, lots of little villages, Hindu shrines, various beaches en route and local markets. The nice thing about hooking up with a local driver was that we could ask him to stop so we could walk around. We got to see what we wanted away from big tourist attractions.
We also did a group bus tour which took us to the plantations, historical buildings and we saw the – Chamarel Falls – in the Black River Gorges National Park. See it on a map here – Lonely Planet map. The advantage of being with a proper tour guide was he shared interesting information and the historical background to places we visited.
Mauritius is not a must-see-this, must-see-that kind of place. The island is similar whether you are north, west, south or east so you can lurk in one location and you aren’t missing out too much. This isn’t a ‘party like your life depends on it’ place either. Mauritius is where you go to get away from it all, to relax, to have a holiday. Your only real decisions are more about what activities to fit into your day, if any at all.
Last week in – Part 1 – I spoke about what to do in Pitlochry, the theatre festival, Loch Faskally and the fish ladders.
After our mini tour of Pitlochry we washed, changed and went for a meal at – Drummond’s before walking to the theatre to see the first of our two shows. Drummond’s is located in a lovely setting next to the River Tummel. I’m vegetarian and always moan about the lack of vegetarian food on offer. I had the only veg option, a veggie lasagne and my husband had Scottish salmon. Both came with veggies. I would have liked a wider variety to choose from but what we had was good and the service was great.
Blair Castle Ballroom
On day two we only had a morning to spare as we only had to be back at 14.00pm for the matinee show. We took a drive out to see Blair Castle. It’s one of the better castles to visit in Scotland. Entrance was £9.50 each. We walked from room to room . . . to room to room . . . to room. I lost count of how many we passed through.
Each one had either been restored with original furniture or had mementos and souvenirs relating to the Dukes of Atholl, their families, historic visitors and the Atholl Highlanders who are the only private army in Europe.
The Atholl Highlanders were formed as a personal guard for Queen Victoria and her husband Albert. It was at Blair Castle that Victoria fell in love with Scotland and set about building her own castle not too far away – Balmoral Castle. The current royal family still love to escape to Scotland and it’s easy to see why.
Any castle visit takes longer than you think. Allow at least 3 hours to see the exhibits and wander around the gardens. Most castles have cafes so you can plan a lunch stop at a castle. I can’t promise good food. You can even sleep over in certain castles.
Blair Castle
George Murray, the 10th Duke of Atholl placed Blair Castle into a trust to ensure it’s preservation. His successor the 11th Duke of Atholl was a born and bred South African. John Murray came out from South Africa to Scotland to inspect the guards every year. He was succeeded by his son, Bruce Murray this year (2012), so the 12th Duke of Atholl is also South African. Who knows how many people with royal blood lines live around the world?
McKays in Pitlochry
After the matinee we went to McKays for a meal. McKays is a hearty, down to earth place, done up in contemporary Scottish style. The waitrons, both male and female, wear kilts or tartan skirts. McKays food is reasonably priced and entertainment ranges from a live band to a Ceilidh (pronounced cay-lee) evening, which is traditional Scottish dance and music. It’s a festive and popular place.
We shared a starter of fried mozarella and salsa. My husband had Shetland salmon with vegetables and said it was the best salmon he had ever eaten. I had a jacket potato with cheese and beans. With a bottle of wine, our meal came to around £35.
Blair Castle Hercules Garden
Big Old Yew in Fortingall
The next morning we had cooked oats for breakfast. My other half had a choice of kippers which came complete with the head, eyes teeth and tail or haddock. I had boiled eggs. The breakfasts at Dundarach were good and their service was excellent. I loved the tartan carpets and old wooden staircase in the foyer.
After brekka we decided to do a round road trip taking in the towns of Aberfeldy, Kenmore on Loch Tay and Fortingall. We passed a few ruined bridges and visited the oldest Yew tree in the world in Fortingall. This poor tree has had so many hardships. It should be much bigger but at least it is still growing and is still the original tree.
We drove back along the beautiful Loch Tay and stopped at Queens View, which is a view point taking in Loch Tummel and the Glencoe Mountains. It’s named after Queen Isabella, wife of Robert the Bruce, but some say it could be named after Queen Victoria.
If you have time you might want to consider doing a bit of cycling. We saw plenty cyclists out enjoying the local sights. We had our car so we took a slow drive back to Aberdeen via Royal Deeside area passing Balmoral Castle and driving through the pretty towns of Braemar, Ballater, Banchory and Crathes. Royal Deeside is the area adjacent to Perthshire. It is similar and just as beautiful. Read more about that road trip – here
Loch Tay outside Kenmore
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Last week in – Part 2 – you will have read about temples, food and food safety, prostitution and Chang Mai. The week before in – Part 1 – I gave some statistics, spoke on how to get around and about Bangkok.
Beach at resort hotel in Phuket
Getting away from the heady, heavy cities and out to unspoilt beaches is one of the best parts of visiting Thailand. You can book an all inclusive week at one of the resorts and relax, soak up the sun and enjoy buffets of delicious Thai food. The hotels usually have reps from the tour companies at hand. They have catalogues with pictures and descriptions of their tours and day trips. Think glass bottomed boats, fishing, island hopping, snorkeling and diving, learning Thai crafts such as fruit carving and Thai cookery. The resorts also have regular shuttle buses that do round trips so you can pop into town or try out the various local beaches. You may find better prices if you go into the town and chat to other tour operators.
Resort hotel bedroom
I would recommend you have as many Thai massages as you can while in Thailand. They are dead cheap and these ladies manage to take the kinks and knots out of your muscles and joints. Thai massage – is quite different to a Swedish or Sports massage. You are usually clothed and no oils are used. Thai ladies pick up your limbs and twist and rotate them. They roll you about and rearrange you. They press and prod you. It sounds uncomfortable but it’s not. You let yourself go limp and they do all the work and it is heavenly. The other bonus is a Thai massage is around 2 hours long.
Traditional clothing of the hill tribe ladies in Chang Mai
Make sure you keep space in your suitcase for shopping in Thailand. You can have a custom made suit or outfits run up by one of the many tailors. You can also find designer knock offs or over runs. Just be aware that bringing home designer imitations can be illegal in some countries. How about carved wooden items to hand crafted jewelry? You can buy CDs, fabrics and really just about anything from flip flops to pots and pans – dirt cheap. My best was the night market in Chang Mai. Night markets are common in Thailand. But a regular to Chang Mai reckons the Sunday market there is even better. Do try on or at least measure clothes against your body as Asian sizes are smaller.
Wood carving
Every country has some unique saying or custom and Thailand is no exception. Thais positively adore their royal family despite them being fairly remote from their people it’s an offence and deeply insulting to say anything bad about the Royal family. Another custom is to stand to attention when the national anthem called the “Pheng Chat” in Thai and meaning ‘national song’ is played. They play it every morning at 8.00am and every evening at 18.00 pm. Westerners only need keep still.
More Buddhas
Thailand is for the most part safe. They have some crazy festivals. In particular the – Songkran – festival, when they throw water on each other. see here. A friend had his camera ruined when he was caught in the thick of a waterfest. It’s also unwise to carry huge amounts of cash on you. Rather draw cash you need to which is easy to do in Thailand.
Every now and again you get uprisings between the – red shirts and yellow shirts. The uprisings are soon contained but can cause road closures and other inconveniences. A hat and sunblock in such a hot country are mandatory. Especially on walks and excursions.
Best time to visit? Between November and February. It’s cooler then and it’s also less likly to rain. Between March and May temperatures soar above 40’C and it is unbearably hot. July to October is the rainy season.
Here are links to sites that offer accommodation in Thailand – Agoda,Asia rooms,Hotel Thailand and Sawadee. It’s a common gesture to leave a tip on the pillow for the cleaners who serviced your room.
Last week in – Part 1 – I gave a few statistics, advice for getting about and what to do in Bangkok.
Boat propellor at floating market
They have a saying amongst visitors to Thailand – What wat is that? A – wat – is a Buddhist temple. And as you can probably gather, there are lots and lots of them. Nearly 41 000. Any tour will always include a couple of wats. They usually have a special Buddha and space to light incense and worship. You are required to remove your shoes when you enter a temple. It is also plain good mannered to be dressed respectfully. We saw big Buddhas, small ones, an emerald Buddha, a reclining one, golden ones, wooden ones, fat ones and more. They do become the same, only different, after a while. But I loved the spiritual undertones that exist in Thailand. People light incense at shrines in the middle of a busy street.
Reclining Buddha Bangkok
The floating market in Bangkok was our best. People trade all sorts of yummy food from their boats. They whizzed up and down the canals scaring the life out of me with raised propellers. We got to taste some interesting fruits and snacks. And that brings me to food in Thailand. I usually whine about lack of food for vegetarians when we travel. Thailand has food to die for. For vegetarians look out for egg and tofu stir frys, green and red curries, various types of rice or noodles to accompany the meal and a selection of dips and sauces too. We tied all sorts of exotic fruits we had never seen before. Even tried sprinkling our fruit with salt and chili flakes – as they do in Thailand.
Chang Mai
There are food markets all over and they are open early till late as Thais generally eat out. Thais typically eat small portions of food all day long rather than three big fat meals. They like to socialise when eating. Each person gets a different dish and they all eat from each others bowls. Street food always carries the risk of an upset tummy but I was fine. My husband didn’t fare so well but we can’t be sure it was the food. Read this link – for more about Thai street food but the golden rules – only eat where other people eat, only eat what you have seen being cooked, buy drinks that are unopened in a can and avoid fruit and salads that have handled.
Patong beach
While in Chang Mai we did a day trip, taking in a wat en route of course, to see the – Karen hill tribe people. They are also called – long necks – as they wear brass rings around their necks, adding more and more, until they do indeed, have very long necks. They also had trekking, elephant rides and trips across the border to The Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos meet. Here’s another tip. Shop around for tour prices. They can vary considerably and operators are open to bargaining.
Rickshaw chang Mai
Prostitution is rife in Thailand and a source of revenue for families. In western countries prostitutes are often victims of sexual abuse and/or have substance abuse problems. Thai girls find their way into prostitution mainly because of poverty. They are usually young girls from rural areas who are supporting husbands, children, siblings and parents. Most of their families know what they do but pretend not to for fear of losing vital income these girls provide.
A selection of Thai fruits
Thai women are slim, attractive and demure. Men fall for them as they have easy and uncomplicated personalities. But these girls are out to make money. a case of that here. They attach themselves to a holiday maker and become his ‘wife’ during the holiday. They lay on attention and give the impression the guy they are with is the best man ever. You see them at the airport crying as the guys are leaving. As soon as the guy’s back is turned, the Thai ‘wife’ is on to the next bloke. She usually keeps in touch, and it doesn’t take long before the Thai girlfriend is needing money for this or that, swearing undying loyalty and love. Meanwhile they are spinning this yarn to every bloke they had.
A bar with ladies in Patong
I am not going to pass moral judgement on this. What two consenting adults choose to do is up to them. Thais are accepting of the practice and there is no sneering or looking down on these girls at all. Although prostitution is illegal very little is done to put an end to it. There are the occasional raids on the bars, money changes hands and then it’s back to business as usual. What I will mention is that over half a million Thais are living with HIV AIDS – source here.
I was determined to go to a – ladyboy – club to see what ladyboys look like. These guys look just like women. Very pretty women. You would not know they are men. It happens that tourists make out with one only to discover the true gender and get a hellava fright.
Next week in – Part 3 – you can read about shopping and markets, what to do and what not to do.
Steps to temple in Chang Mai
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
