Day 2. 29th July 2024

 ← To Day 1             To Day 3→

Day 2.          29th July 2024


Edinburgh

Cloudy. 20ºC


So I woke up at 2am and took some Ibuprofen to try to reduce the swelling in my ankle, then went back to sleep. I have to say, I was very surprised my plan to defeat jet lag (stay up as late as I could two nights before flying, and on the flight) actually worked. I managed to stay up till about 8:30pm last night and besides waking up for a while at 2am, I managed to sleep until 6:30am.



My rooms at Plollock Halls. 
This reminds me very much of my room at Shelton Halls, Gatton. For 60 pounds a night, it's clean, comfortable, close(ish) to the city center, and half the price of anywhere else in town.

After my buffet breakfast, full English, pancake, fruit, nuts and yoghurt… I got and all day bus pass (£5.00) and went out to Cammeron Toll Shopping Centre to try to sort my SIM card, then failing that, went to buy my last bits and pieces at Salisbury before bussing back to Princess Street and getting a new SIM from a much better, far less dodgy company. From here I (stupidly) walked back along South Clerk Street to check out some thrift stores (hoping to find the West Highlang Way guide book second hand, and maybe some sand shoes with cushioning. No luck) and then upon the advice of my good friend Virginia (via Messenger) I went into a Boots chemist and got a tubular tension bandage and Ibuprofen gel for my ankle, then limped back to my room.

And here I sit now at 3:50pm, resting, writing this journal, and waiting till it’s time to hobble out again for some dinner.

…. Another adventure out to get some more tension bandages. While I was out, I figured I was at the Royal Mile and I hadn’t been for a walk up it yet (yes, I’m an idiot), so I went for a stroll around before heading back to my room. Again in pain.

I’ve had a bit of a shock at my bank balance back in Korea. Half of my money is already gone and it’s only day two. I’m looking forward to getting into the Highlands tomorrow where there aren’t as many shops. To be fair though, about W300,000 of the W600,000 spent was my Korean credit card bill before I left, and a lot of the rest was supplies for my hike, so hopefully from now, the spending rate will drastically decrease… hopefully!




Come cute decorations on the entrance to an apartment. 

More strange money.

I lost my hat yesterday, and after some mild sunburn, I decided I should buy another one. You reckon it's Scottish enough?


I've never seen this type of thistle before.


A couple of wynds (back alley ways) coming off the Royal Mile. These are where all the best stories from Edinburgh's history happened.

St Giles Cathedral in Lawnmarket.



Looking up the Royal Mile.

The Heart of Midlothian Mosaic on Lawnmarket.



One of the original town buses, turned into a Ghostly tourist attraction.

Some guy making noise.

This is the statue of Hume. 
Don't remember who he is or why people rub his toes.
Must be some weird fetish.


 ← To Day 1             To Day 3→


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 7. 3rd August 2024

Image
     ←To Day 6                          To Day 8 → Day 7.               3 rd August 2024 Meanach Bothy → random bridge on Allt na Lairige river. 10Km Rain / sun / rain / sun / rain… 14 º – 20 º C The day started fairly slow, just making breakfast and packing up my stuff. I really enjoyed staying in the bothy but now it was time to face the rain and start hiking again. The first task was simply trying to find the trail I wanted. Just as I was about to leave the bothy, three people came in from two different directions and no one knew of the trail I wanted. But I knew the general direction I wanted to go, so I just started slogging across the bogs, heather and moss (don’t stand on the moss, it’s like a big wet sponge. Heather is usually on firmer ground) fairly sure I would come across the track if I kept heading at right angles to where it should b...
Read more

Day 8. 4th August, 2024

Image
        ←To Day 7                          To Day 9 → Day 8.              4 th August, 2024 Random camp site → Fort William (via Spean Bridge) 25.8km Cloudy with occasional showers. 14 º – 20 º C The Last Day Hiking! Today I woke up and did the usual battle with the midgies packing up my tent. Then I started walking. I honestly couldn’t decide if I wanted to do the full hike into Fort William or just drop down to Spean Bridge and catch the bus. Either way, I knew I wanted a coffee, so I headed for Spean Bridge. The hike out of the hills was about usual as far as bodily gripes went but once out of the hills, it was a LONG trudge along bitumen into town. My shoes hadn’t dried out from the past couple of days of rain, bog and wet grass, and so finally, on the last day, I started getting a blister under my big toe. To be honest, I can’t believe I las...
Read more

Day 9. 5th August, 2024

Image
    ←To Day 8                          To Day 10 → Day 9.                5 th August, 2024 Fort William → Glen Nevis Camp Ground Cloudy / rainy. 17 º C Today I basically spent the day walking around Fort William. Actually, walked is way too grand a word. I hobbled. Both feet are very sore because of blisters under each big toe but because of this and the way I was limping (can you limp with both legs?) the muscle running up the outside of my shin; you know, the one you didn’t even know you had because you’ve never given it a seconds thought? Yeah, that one. It was very sore and cramping. So I basically hobbled from shop to shop looking for a Harris Tweed wallet for myself (couldn’t find one I liked), a bag or wallet for HaYoung (couldn’t find one I thought she would like) and something for the kids (found something I thought they might like, but left it i...
Read more