Travelling in Scotland, Part 3 of Many

Dec 3rd, 2011

Since the discovery of the International Student Centre of the University of Edinburgh, I realise I had missed out MANY day-trips to different cities around Scotland. Well.. I suppose that’s because I missed Freshers Week, so I never knew of its existence, until one day, my flatmate Jessica’s facebook page showed a link to their group. So there you go, a new ritual for me began. Every few weeks, the ISC will post details about a day-trip they have scheduled. Then, at a fixed time and date, a registration website will open, and people will have to fight for a place. If you are lucky, you will then have to make a trip to their office on another specified date  and time, to purchase the ticket. That my friends, is not a pleasant experience. Queuing up in the cold for 30+ minutes, just to ensure you can actually get a ticket (The ISC actually allows 15% more places in registration than the actual number of participants, so there’s still 15% chance one cannot buy his/her ticket!)

Anyway, I’ve been lucky. I managed to book my first trip with the ISC, and one cold December morning, I found myself on a bus, travelling to the City of Dundee, making a pitstop at the Glamis Castle.

Glamis Castle is one heck of a castle. Very impressive!

The Glamis Castle

It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghome. Don’t know who they are? No worries, you just need to know they are related to the current British Royal Family. The Earl and Countess are from the Bowes-Lyon family, aka, the Queen Mother’s family. The Queen Mother herself, was the daughter of the 14th Earl. So as a child, she had lived in Glamis, and her daughter, Princess Margaret was born there in 1930.

Anyway, trivia fact 1: Did you know that the castle is featured on the £10 notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland? Trivia fact 2: Shakespeare’s Macbeth lives at Glamis Castle, but not the real King Macbeth. Trivia fact 3: For a castle lived by royalties, the rooms of the Queen Mother and King George VI (aka Bertie in ‘The King’s Speech’) were rather small…

Unfortunately, the Castle is still the residence of the Earl and Countess, so photos were definitely not allowed inside the castle. But I have to say, it’s really amazing. We started our tour in the dining room of the castle and was treated with a nice hot glass of mulled wine. Talk about hospitality fit for royalty! Then we were led around to different rooms at different levels, like the drawing room, bedrooms, servants’ crypt and chapel. Different sections of the castle reflects a different time period, some from the 16th Century, others 17th or 18th.

After touring around the castle, we were free to roam in the gardens. It was December, so no surprise it wasn’t as impressive as the inside. But still, the vastness of the gardens allowed me some peaceful time to walk alone and enjoy some fresh air!

The driveway of the Castle....

Heading back to the bus, we continued on our journey to Dundee. The scenery along the way is amazing. Rolling fields of the Scottish countryside? Lovely!

When we arrived in Dundee, it started to rain, so I found myself at the Dundee Discovery Point, where I had a nice haggis and cheese panini and hot cup of coffee. The Discovery Point is actually an education centre on the RRS Discovery, a ship that was used for scientific research in the Arctic back in early 1900s. It was the last wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain, but it also had a steam engine. Pretty cool piece of work. At some point the ship also worked as a cargo ship and sailed to Canada following a change in ownership to the HBC.

I admit I have a great interest in these old wooden ships, so of course I jumped at the chance to visit the ship, which was docked right outside the building by the waterfront.

After spending an hour on the ship. I had some 45 minutes left to see Dundee. So a took a walk to the city centre. Well.. Loads of shops, ready for Christmas shopping.. I bought myself a lovely poncho from a shop, and left the city very satisfied. For £8, I took a round trip bus ride and saw a castle. I’d say it’s money well spent! Also, I’ve finally gotten myself out of Edinburgh! (unless you count spending a couple of hours in Glasgow at night and not seeing anything but a concert…)

Lights and Sounds and Stars!

One of the reasons that I came to Scotland, is to actually see a concert. Yes, I have tickets booked for a show before my exchange has been confirmed. Hey, if you know the feeling of missing out years’ worth of concerts by your favourite band, when the opportunity rises, you just have to go for it! Damn, I didn’t even mention which band I was seeing! Ta-da! Within Temptation from the Netherlands!

I’ve been a fan of this band for at least 5 years, and I know it sounds cheesy, but WT’s music has been with me during the ups and downs of life.. So yea.. I was really desperate to see them, since they rarely travel outside Europe, and if they do, they don’t visit the West Coast! Anyway, arriving at the Barrowland in Glasgow with my friend on 10th Nov,  I got a little worried when I saw the line of fans waiting to enter, and that was 2 hours before the show! So we waited and waited, and finally, we could get in.

I’ve never went to a rock concert in my life, so the experience is kinda new to me. I mean, sure, I’ve been to performance by rock musicians, but in Hong Kong, everything’s really organised. Like we get seats for rock concerts, so how weird is that for me, to finally experience the real concert experience, which involves pushing around the crowd? At that time I was taking a course called Popular Music, Technology and Society. We spent 2 hours discussing the experience, but nothing we discussed in class has really prepared me for the real pushing and standing… boy, it was tiring!

The opening act was performed by Anneke van Giersbergen, who collabed with WT for the song Somewhere, so it was great to see Anneke performing before the band. Then WT came on, and I think my ears started to go deaf.. but whatever! Time to meet the new band members of WT!

Stefan, the new guitarist that replaced Robert for the tour!

Sharon, the beautiful vocalist!

And here are all my favourite shots of the night!

I walked out of the concert with my ears deaf and my legs throbbing, but it was worth the pain… When will I ever see them again?

On a side note, I also paid a visit to the Queen’s Hall, which is right next to my home on South Clerk Street, the same week to see Charley Boorman talking about this trips around the world with Ewan McGregor in Long Way Round and Long Way Down as well as his individual projects By Any Means and Race to Dakar. I’ve followed Charley and Ewan’s work since Secondary 4 when I used their book for my examination project. It’s great to finally hear about their extraordinary trips in person!

With Charley!

And he signed my book too!

Ah.. those were the happiest days of my life!

Travelling in Scotland, Part 2 of Many

Oct 1st, 2011

Yet another local trip, this time it was Cramond Island and Cramond Village.

Cramond is a suburban area of Edinburgh, and there was once a Roman Fort. Even now, the site of the Roman Fort remains, although, you can’t really see any structures anymore. What’s left are the outlines of headquarters, workshop and other buildings. At least, that still gives you some idea who large the whole complex is, right? It’s now part of an open parkland.

Well, artists and archaeologists say the site is huge, so let's believe them!

Walking further down to the shores, we enter the area of the village. The weather wasn’t great that day, but surely an ice-cream can cheer everyone up. I met this kid while he was enjoying his ice-cream, cute eh? I decided to take a photo of him, and he gladly posed for me! Don’t you just love kids?

As we approached the causeway down to the Island, there was a sign which warns visitors about the tide. Apparently, there is just this short window of time that people can cross to the Island, for the rest of the time, the causeway will be covered with water, and tough luck, you’d be stuck there, unless you call for help.. Not nice…

Here we go, let's head to the island! Hm.. where's it? I don't see it...

As we walk further down the causeway, a line of pylons can be seen along one side. So what are they? They were used as submarine defence during the Second World War. Pretty awesome pylons I think, great photography subject too!

The walkway isn’t really that long, so, soon we arrived at the Island. There’s nothing much to see really, but looking back towards the mainland, there was this mythical feeling about it that captures my attention~

By the time we headed back to the mainland, the water was already rising, so, good timing! That was really a nice afternoon for me to do some photography, so I was glad that I joined this tour with the people from my building at Edinburgh!

Just a little bonus for me, I met with this cute little puppy called Luna. She definitely knows I am a dog lover She came running straight at me, smelling and licking my hand.. Isn’t that sweet?

Travelling in Scotland, Part 1 of Many

Kinda sad my last post was published in November.. I am really terrible at keeping a blog I suppose.. Anyway, I started my new semester 2 weeks ago, and it’s getting fun now! Met some new, cool people, like my new flatmate Emma (she’s Canadian, YAY!) and Astoria, whom I met on my trip to St. Andrews last week (I will save that for another post to talk about)..

So I’ve been in Scotland for 5 months already, supposedly, I should have visited a lot of places, but nope, that didn’t really happen. Hey, I am here to study! Right now, I present to you my first ‘excursion’ in Scotland, a local day trip to see the beautiful Rosslyn Chapel, the Scottish Parliament at Hollyrood and Calton Hill

Rosslyn Chapel, yes, that one. The one you see in the Da Vinci Code movie couple of years ago. From the outside, it’s just your average little chapel. It wasn’t that impressive when I first saw it. Guess the weather that day didn’t really help To make matters worse, they were doing some construction work for preservation and conservation so eck, scaffoldings!

The interior was another story. It looks very amazing! Too bad I can’t take any photos inside, so I borrowed these from their website..

The interior rock carving of the chapel are very detailed, and there’s this feeling of tranquility that makes me feel like sitting there all day to read, or just sit and think about life, the universe and everything!

Then my friend Adrian brought me back to the city and we headed to Hollyrood. At first I thought I’d be visiting the Palace, but Adrian had other plans.. Free tour inside the Parliament. Quite an interesting place. The SMPs have a lovely place for debating… Just look at that. For an ancient city like Edinburgh, they have such a modern place for politics!

I definitely need to make another visit soon.. I really want to get down into the middle of the debating hall That, I can only do it if I join the official guided tour!

After lunch at the Royal Mile, we walked all the way to Calton Hill, which is right next to the New Town. It was windy and cold up there, but thankfully, the suns up as well. I could finally break out my shades in Edinburgh! Calton Hill is filled with monuments and some other iconic buildings. One of my favourite is the National Monument, aka the Scotland’s Disgrace. It apparently was built to commemorate soldiers and sailors that died during the Napoleonic War, but this Parthenon-like structure was left unfinished..

It was quite a climb to get onto the monument.. but I did it!

My other favourite was the Nelson Monument, because my dad’s name is Nelson. NO! Just kidding! (ok, dad’s really called Nelson) Given my interest in naval history, not saying that I know a lot, but who’d forget Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar?

I paid a couple of pounds and climbed a long flight of steps just get his pretty card! 

But hey, the climb was worth it! Sunset and Princes Street!

There were too many monuments and buildings on Calton Hill like The Dugald Stewart Monument and the City Observatory just to name a few, which I never got a chance to take a closer look, so I will be back!

Boo! Something wicked this way comes?

As with many other countries with long, bloody history, Scotland definitely has her fair share of dreary castles, haunted dungeons and lurking ghosts… Not that I really believe in ghosts or paranormal activities, but during the past two months, I visited the Edinburgh Dungeon and went on a ghost tour at night. That was purely for fun and I see that as a way of learning the history of Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Dungeon is part of an ‘amusement/theme park’ chain in Europe. More like an over-priced haunted house to me, but if you feel like learning about the historical torture methods and what the local murderers did back in the old days in a humorous way, it’s certainly a place to visit. With live actors, special effects and rides, the Dungeon is a funny attraction, where you will begin your journey by being judged for crimes you don’t even know you have committed (like crimes against fashion :S) in an 18th Century courtroom. What follows? you will have to find out yourself.. (hey! I paid £15 to get in, so should you!)

Fine, a map of the Edinburgh Dungeon…

After visiting the Dungeon, I realise I am probably too old for that sort of thing… Ghost tours? That seems more fun, especially when you do it at night. I went on a 9pm tour which started at Hunters Square. Our guide then brought us into the narrow, dark and damp alleys (called Closes) and started telling us the scary details about the daily lives of the people living in the Middle Ages, then we headed down to the underground vaults in South Bridge. While I don’t believe in ghosts, I did feel my heart rate rising as our guide told us stories about the ‘current occupants’ of the vaults. Occasionally you may hear sounds (or even see or feel things) and scare the crap out of you, but you will definitely feel better after a complementary glass of scotch whisky and shortbread!

all work and no play…

Well, not anymore! I am done with my assignments! (At least for now…)

Going on exchange definitely means getting used to a new education system… and here in Edinburgh, it is SO different from Canada. Sure, in both places, we spend 4 years completing our university degrees, but here, people declare their major right at the beginning.

It feels odd for me when I chatted with local students, and they already know what they wanted to study. It was especially odd for me, because back when I was thinking about what I wanted to study in uni during my last year of secondary school, I chose law, which I was and still am not too sure if it’s something I really wanted to do. After landing myself into UBC, I suddenly got two extra years to dabble with any courses possible, going to sociology, journalism, archaeology, latin, and film class until I really have to declare my major… Up till this summer, I was still struggling between Sociology and Anthropology as I had all the pre-requisites done for both majors.. But here I am, officially a BA (Sociology) candidate, the title I now use when introducing myself while I was working on my honours Scottish Society and Politics course here in Edinburgh…

School work here is different too. There aren’t any mid-terms, although term papers were definitely expected. There were more readings than I normally do in Canada.. I think profs here really want students to read and learn on their own. Not saying it’s a bad thing, I am just not used to it. But trying to prepare for tutorials for Social Anthropology with a tutor that is not too inspiring nor helpful is not something I’d like to do every weekend really…

Anyway, I am now trying my best to relax after spending a week writing three essays.. it’s not fun when all the caffeine I consumed completely wrecked my sleep time and appetite… On a brighter note, I think I lost some weight again

Sharing a flat, that’s something new..

I always tell myself, “Norma, you know you don’t mix well with flatmates or roommates….” I have to admit, I rarely have great experiences sharing a room with people, with some exceptions of course (To my ex-roommates, you know who you are )

Ever since starting university at UBC, I’ve been used to living alone in my own ‘small’ space. (That’s a ‘lie’ I suppose, once person living in my own one-bedroom apartment, it’s not a small place. Heck, cleaning is a pain!) I knew that I won’t have this luxury when I applied for exchange. Reason one: I am going on exchange, I know I should try and know more people. Reason two: sharing a uni flat means less hassle (ie, less furniture and junk to buy and throw/give away at the end of the year). So here I am, sharing a flat with 5 other girls in this 6-person flat on South Clerk Street.

I had my worries when I received my accommodation contract. A friend warned me that SCS is really old, the lift breaks easily, and the fire alarm will constantly ring. My other concern was the noise level, since SCS is facing one of the major streets here. Well, it is not too bad actually. We do have a newly renovated kitchen, and my room is actually rather spacious (after some major rearrangement of furniture). Noise isn’t too bad when you live on the third floor. Of course, for bonus, my window is facing directly towards King’s Hall. Awesome view indeed!

My flatmates here are great too, although it’s  quite amusing and amazing that the accommodation office decided to put 5 Chinese students together! Talk about lack of international experience. 3 of us (Abby, Emily and myself) are from Hong Kong, the other two (Jessica and Ronny) are visting students from China. Our last flatmate, Ylva is Norwegian. Most of the time we meet in our own kitchen/dining area for chats, Emily and I do a lot of cooking together, and we share food too, which is nice, since I love to cook for others. I really should start baking for my flatmates soon!

With two of my Hong Kong-er flatmates, Abby and Emily

Boy, I am so happy with this kitchen!

Well, SCS is going to be my home for the rest of the school year. I am not going to complain too much now as long as I have a roof on top of me!

New year, new city.

Phew.. I am doing WAY too much travelling this year. First the States during my reading break, then a 7-week stay in China travelling around on the ‘dangerous’ high-speed rail (and thankfully surviving all my trips) with my UBC Archaeology Group Study peeps, and now I am in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This is my third year as a university student, and I decided to give myself a chance to experience the UK style of education. Afterall, I grew up in a British colony, and my primary and secondary education were modelled after the Brits. It was my dream to study in the UK, but then, things happened and I went to Canada. As part of UBC’s Go Global program, I am now exchanging at the University of Edinburgh for the whole school year.. so bye-bye Vancouver, I won’t see you until September of 2012.

Flying from Hong Kong, I arrived at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 5-ish in the morning, and then the most embarrassing thing in my life happened.. I missed my transfer to Edinburgh because I fell asleep, waking up only five minutes after the last boarding call.. (Hey! I always have problems sleeping on long haul flights, and red-eye too!) Luckily, I got myself onto the next available flight, and here I am in Edinburgh, several hours late, sans my checked-in baggage.

Arriving at my flat at South Clerk Street, I was rather relieved after hearing all the horror stories about the place. It was above my expectations really.. While my own room faces a busy street, I also have a wonderful view. Right across the street, is the historic King’s Hall, which is a church. After a couple of days, I’ve decided to rearrange my furniture so I can take advantage of the wonderful view outside. Now, when weather’s permitting, I can normally wake up to see the sun rising the moment I sit up on my bed

My small but cosy bedroom, different to what I have in Vancouver, but still, it's nice...

It's great to have such a nice view, especially a historic building like King's Hall

Weather’s pretty much like Vancouver, you know, sometimes sunny, sometimes raining, sometimes overcast and definitely very windy… So far, I still haven’t done much exploring in Edinburgh, but almost everything I need can be found in the neighbourhood. School’s a walkable distance, and so is the nearest bank, post-office and supermarket, so I am not going to complain about the (not-really-but-still) expensive transportation cost here.. But I do miss the U-Pass more and more..

Sharing an apartment with 5 other girls is certainly a new experience for me, but that I shall talk about another time

Till next time!

Chapter 6 – Finally, we are digging!

People always thing archaeology is simply being Indiana Jones, running around the world looking for treasures.. Truth is, it’s the glorified name of hole diggers Nah, just joking, archaeology IS fun, just that there’s quite a lot of hard work behind all the pretty stuff you see in museums behind the glass. During this trip, I actually had the opportunity to participate in a large scale excavation in Anyang, at a 2 hectares site called Tongle Huayuan (同樂花園).

For two weeks, I spent my mornings shadowing a Chinese student-archaeologist who taught me the different methods in identifying archaeological features, such as burials and refuse pits, as well as the procedures that Chinese archaeologists follow when they do excavations. At least, now I can understand the different stratigraphy and is also capable (sort of) to find the ‘age’ (edge) as Jing says

On the second day of excavation, I was lucky enough to witness the unearthing of bronzes in a Shang burial where my student-archaeologist, Wen Xuan was working in. These precious had to be carefully uncovered, sketched, documented and photographed before they can be removed from the site and brought back to the work station for further cleaning and analysis.

 In situ burial goods, apart from bronzes, there were also ceramics and animal bones
 Photographing the burial

 Wen Xuan, my teacher. It was apparently his first good find since his arrival at Anyang!

 I am holding some real bronze! It’s a ding (鼎), as they call it!

There are of course other stuff I had the chance to play around with, more specifically, burials. Uncovering human remains, especially after they have been dead for thousands of years certainly makes it less scary, but my mom was definitely not happy to see me fiddling with a Qing dynasty tomb… At least I wasn’t the person who accidently broke two teeth from the lower jaw of the the male Qing burial.. told her to be careful, but she still broke them…

Chapter 5 – Field School? Nope, Trade School

I guess when I read the description for this summer field school, I didn’t read the fine print… I spent many afternoons working on pottery, wooden and bamboo tool making, and of course, building a kiln… Yep. I feel like I am in trade school instead of an archaeology field school, doing pottery and carpentry instead of learning how to excavate things.. but hey, that’s experimental archaeology! We are trying to build the Shang style pottery kiln, make some pottery from scratch (ie, digging for your own clay, refine it etc) and decorate them with your own tools (ie, making your own carving knife with a gigantic knife from Bangladesh, and twisting your own strings)…

People say making pottery can be a calming experience… I beg to differ. I think I am sick of it, and to think we still have to make ceramic molds for casting bronze? FML.

 working on woodwork…