Koh Samui

This past week I have been in Koh Samui, Thailand's largest island. My impressions? A little too trashy, too many old white guys with beer guts parading around with their beautiful youthful Thai mistresses, and music that is played way too loud too late in the night. Maybe I'm getting to be an old prude in my age haha. Or maybe I'm just a loner at heart and like my peace and quiet. But having said that, the beaches are nice and the scenery beyond the towns is lovely and tropical and I am doing what I came here to do... soak in some much needed sun and heat and swim to my heart's content after the wintery conditions of Europe (even though it was summer and early autumn when I was there). I feel so relaxed (and brown!) and am really looking forward to my sister arriving in three weeks time. I haven't seen her since the very beginning of January and that is what I am spending most of my time here thinking about, at least that is when I am not absorbed in the couple of great books that I have been reading of late. Love you Jenna!

A Quick Trip To Ireland

So I am finally back in Asia, earlier than I had originally planned (I missed it too much that I rebooked my flight... twice!). After Scotland I popped over to Ireland for a week, as too many people that I had encountered on my travels advised against me going to Morocco on my own. I hung out at Dingle in County Kerry for a few days before heading eastwards to Cork. The Dingle Peninsula was stunning! It was exactly how I pictured Ireland to look. I spent the days roaming the brighter-than-bright-green country side and the nights at the various cute and colourful pubs in the small fishing village with two Israeli boys and a German guy that shared my dorm with me. The locals, who I discovered actually speak Gaelic to one another, were so friendly and a great laugh. I can understand why my sister, who visited Dingle earlier in the year, fell in love with the place. Cork was, well, not the prettiest of cities although it had a great student vibe to it. An Irish girl that I met who was also named Lisa took me out to a few of the student hangouts in Cork on my last night in Ireland and introduced me to many of her friends. I have always loved Irish guys, like most girls, but I learnt that night just how much of ladies' men they really are. They are great fun though. I spent the night laughing my heart out with a glass of Irish whisky in hand.

But as much as I liked Ireland and Europe as a whole, I am so so so happy to be back in Asia. My heart is deeply entrenched in this part of the world and I don't think nothing will change that. I feel at home with the spicy food, the pungent scents, the crazy driving, the climate... everything. For me there is nothing better than sitting in a little crumbling street stall eating a bowl of rice and whatever as small sweat beads build up on my forehead and watching entire families on single mopeds drive past, women setting up their market displays for the day ahead, etc. The simple pleasures that this part of the world has to offer are why I continue to come back and always will, time and time again.

The Clan

So much to tell...

First of all, and most importantly, Celtic won! Sitting in a sea of green and white and watching the team win was unreal. To hear the team's anthems being belted out so passionately around me was just so awesome. The swear words oozing out of the rough-looking fans beside me in broad Glaswegian accents was, well, not so pleasant but it did add to the authenticity of the experience. All in all, it was a moment in time I will never forget. I hope to one day relive it but with my dad and my pop on either side of me and with the Rangers losing to our Celtic :)

On Monday, my cousin and I went for a magnificent drive along the west coast of Scotland and through the highlands, witnessing some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever laid eyes on. I insisted we listen to a Rod Stewart album along the way and so, to the heart-pumping tunes of 'Sailing' and 'Rythym of my Heart', we travelled past rolling green hills, wind-battered lochs and picturesque Scottish villages. I could almost see myself skipping through the countryside in a kilt with a piper following me hehe. We stopped off at Luss, the origin of my clan, where we walked around and admired the beauty of the little village and visited the gravestones of the many, many Colquhouns before my time. We also paid a visit to the Loch Ness monster exhibition centre near Inverness to learn about the history of the myth behind Nessie. I couldn't help but look at the loch genuinely in search of the monster, feeling very silly at the same time. Unfortunately, Nessie wasn't to be seen that day.

What else has happened?? The other night my Aunty Maggie, who is actually the wife of my pop's brother, took me to a pub in Clydebank for a few drinks. Thanks to two of her brothers that were there we ended up having more drinks than we bargained for and I somehow ended up singing a Beatles song with one of her brothers in the karaoke contest. Hilarious - singing karaoke with my pop's brother's wife's brother. How's that for a close family?!?

Aside from the above I've been hanging out and catching up with my family alot, from my pop's brothers and sister to their children and even their childrens' children. Regardless of the fact that I have only met most of them just once in my life if at all, and that was as a four-year-old, I feel so comfortable around them. I think that family is family whether or not you live close by and see one another often. Just sharing the same blood creates a bond that is stronger than the oceans that separate us. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to come here and spend time with the clan... I love my family :)

Return to the Motherland

I am in now in Scotland, birthplace of my ancestors, William Wallace and the decimal point. It has been sixteen years since I last visited the land of haggis and deep fried Mars bars yet coming here feels like coming home. I am so at home with the accent, the humour, the food and the obsession with football that I feel just as Scottish as I do Australian. And the fact that I am surrounded by family makes Scotland that much more cozy for me. I love it here!!

So, for eleven days I am based in Glasgow, where my Uncle Drew and family lives and where my dad and grandparents grew up. Glasgow has endeavoured to shed its image as the 'Mean City' over the years, however its working class roots are still obvious. The Glaswegians are a little rough, a little loud and the friendliest bunch of people I've come across in my travels and the city itself, while a little on the rough-looking side and suffering from weather-impairment (i.e. terribly shitty weather), has such a comfortable vibe to it. Walking its streets I don't feel so much an outsider as I do a part of Glasgow. I could definitely live in this great city.

Although based in Glasgow I am travelling to all parts of the country. Already I have paid a visit to Edinburgh, where I toured the famous castle and had a cuppa at my Aunty May's house, and to Sterling, where I walked around the castle there and hiked up the national William Wallace monument. Scotland boasts a fascinating history, one that tells of warring clans and awe-inspiring battles for freedom against England, and one can not fully appreciate it until they experience being in the palace in which Mary Queen of Scots resided, for example, or where William Wallace defeated the English. I am trying to learn as much as I can about the country's past while I am here and also hopefully more about the history of my clan... I will be heading to Luss by Loch Lomond in the next couple of days to see the origins of the Colquhouns. That should be cool.

Anyway, I am just about to hit the pubs of Glasgow with my cousin, Christopher, but I don't think we will get too shattered. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow - we are going to a Celtic match!!!! It has been a dream of mine for many years now to experience a live match at Parkhead, the home of my family's beloved Bhoys, and tomorrow it will come true!!!

Pictures of Rome

Below are several photographs of my trip to Rome. Enjoy :)

The Colloseum 

The Roman Forum