Hashing and hanging out in Edinburgh

So what did we do in impressive Edinburgh? 

Poor guy, caught in some wind. Haha.

Went hashing
Well, after our hashing adventure in Glasgow, we were told that the Hash House Harriers of Edinburgh were about to have their momentous 1800th run. Why not? We thought. 

It was a tricky city run at some points, for example the Green Mile posed some challenges. "Who are those people? They must be running a marathon?" Nope, no, I don't thinks so: this is not what a marathon looks like! Once we got out into the parks it was a lot easier. 

The great thing about including hashing as part of your trip is that you go places you wouldn't ordinarily go and meet people you wouldn't otherwise meet. I talked to a fellow hasher about the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. Given the results, it was not surprising that she said there was a lot of tension in the community and many people chose not to talk about it to avoid conflict between friends and family. 

Hashers celebrate

Rob and a post-hash beer (brewed 
by the Edinburgh Hash team!)

Just one angle of the castle during the hash

Camped in a garden
No, not just a random garden in old town. We camped in someone's backyard. The first time we entered into the world of Camp In My Garden was not exactly what you would call a raging success. Sure it was a mysterious and eventful but we didn't catch much shut eye. As well as the somewhat odd house dynamics (we never met the actual host), it turned out the house was not only "conveniently placed near the railway station" but it actually BACKED ON TO THE TRACKS. Luckily for us there weren't many trains. No, that's not right, while there were very few scheduled  trains, there were lots of trains running express through the station between the hours of 6am to 1pm that made the most heart-stopping and horrendous noise as they tooted their horns on the way through. We thought they were bearing down on the ten! - we only lasted a few nights before moving to a hostel.

Attended the Jazz and Blues Festival
We saw a great band at the Jazz and Blues Festival: they just happened to be Australian. The Bearded Gypsy Band. They were great! I nearly threw cake in the face of the woman behind me however. She was tapping her foot so loudly and often out of time. (I didn't actually have cake so she was lucky.) We'd definitely see the band again if they came to Melbourne.

Visited a Castle 
We saved our castle visit for quite a few days into our time at Edinburgh. Standing on an extinct volcano, the castle is apparently the most besieged place in Great Britain and the most attacked in the world, over its 1110 year history. When we got there we could see they were setting up for the Military Tattoo which was exciting, even though we would not be there to see it. Inside the castle we jumped on the first introductory tour of the day which was very informative and an excellent starting point to get a sense of which parts you want to see. There are so many exhibitions and we spent a solid 4-5 hours there. The Scottish War Memorial was particularly moving and intricately designed. 

Heading up to the keep (Do you need to post anything?)

St Margaret's Chapel which dates from the early 12th century, making
it the oldest building in Edinburgh 

Coat of arms on the Great Hall 

War Memorial building
(Do Rob a favour and leave your slurpie outside. 
Do Kat a favour and save chatting about your weekend plans for later.)

Detail on the War Memorial
building

Soldiers' Dog Cemetery

Cannon-side view of Edinburgh

In the afternoon we joined the swarm of tourists awaiting the One O'clock Gun. The firing of the cannon was originally used as a time signal for ships in the harbour as it was too foggy to rely on a visual signal alone. We all had waited in position for awhile before 1pm but when we finally heard the sound a number of people (me included) jumped! 

Firing of the cannon

Saw some comedy
In the lead-up to the Fringe Festival we saw a two-act preview show at The Stand Comedy Club. The first comedian, Carl Hutchinson, based his act around a childhood dream to become a wrestler. It was very funny. Some guys in the front row kept getting up for drinks and bathrooms breaks. It was pretty rude and Carl pointed them out early. They still didn't get it though. Tough gig being on stage with that lot. 

The second act was probably better appreciated by the local audience because Vladimir McTavish had a few in-jokes we did not understand. The bits we did understand were good though! 

Toured Parliament

We thought a tour of parliament might be a good way to learn a bit more about Scotland and its history and it turned out we were right. What has actually stuck with me from this particular afternoon is the temporary exhibition in the lobby. (Temporary exhibitions seem to do that a lot!) The World Press Photo exhibition showed prize-winning photographs from across the world. There were some incredible photos on war, ebola, sport and everyday lives in several countries. For me, one of the most powerful photos (and there were many) was taken by an artist who uses drones to take photos of every-day gatherings with the same type of image that we see taken from military targets on the 7 o'clock news. (Explanation from the artist below photograph.)

Photography by Tomas van Houtryve Source: World Press Photo 

People exercising in central Philadelphia. Drone operators may consider such ‘signature behaviors’ as evidence of the existence of a training camp.

Since 2002, the US has used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) to collect intelligence and carry out airstrikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The aircraft are guided via satellite by distant operators. The attacks have resulted in a large number of fatalities, including hundreds of civilians.

The photographer bought a small drone, fitted it with a camera, and flew it in the US over the sorts of gatherings that have become habitual targets for airstrikes abroad—weddings, funerals, groups of people praying or exercising. He also used it to photograph settings in which drones are used to less lethal effect, such as oil fields, prisons, and the US-Mexico border.

Pretty powerful photography. I hope I can see a 2016 exhibition.

Climbed Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags
A highlight of visiting Edinburgh was a walk up the nearby hills. Arthur's Seat, like the rock upon which Edinburgh Castle sits, was formed by an extinct volcano system which was eroded by a glacier. This left behind the Salisbury Crags, cliffs between Arthur's seat and the city of Edinburgh. The Crags are a pretty interesting formation that, from the top of the hills, look a bit like a wave in the ocean. 

In case you were wondering, as I did, Arthur's Seat mountain range on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria WAS named so, due its similar appearance to Edinburgh's Arthurs Seat.

Rob and I with Edinburgh and some crags in the background

Glasgow, Scotland

From Belfast to Glasgow
Farewelling Mum at the airport in Belfast, we then worked out how we were going to get to the ferry terminal to get to Glasgow. You see, we had chosen our accommodation excellently for Mum to hop across the train tracks to take her flight to London for further adventures with good friend Rhonda, but to get to the ferry terminal was another issue. In fact, it was what we like to call a DOLPHIN SANDS ROAD moment! (The most literal Dolphin Sands Moment we've had thus far!)

If you look at the map below you will see the marker on George Best Belfast City Airport where we said goodbye to Mum. Our accommodation was over the other side of the train tracks from the airport. The ferry terminal we needed to leave from is located at the very top of the map, labelled: "Stena Line Belfast." Short of swimming with our backpacks, we had to go the long way around!

Mapping a Dolphin Sands Road moment! 

So, we got on our way to Glasgow via ferry and bus, continuing our theme of sticking to land and water over air where possible. I tell you what, it is amazing what they have on ferries these days. Balloons, theatres, ponies, numerous restaurants and all for a short trip across the North Channel!* The bus ride was amusing for another reason. There was this loud, obnoxious siren noise coming from somewhere near Rob's head, "WaaahhWhhheeer". It didn't stop for 30 minutes.  The lady next to him asked, "Did I do that?" For quite awhile she, Rob and I could not stop laughing. Everyone else on the bus acted like it was normal for buses to make kind of noise. She was Irish and going to visit her daughter, who had moved to Glasgow a few years ago to find work.

* Ponies may be a slight exaggeration. 

After a short bus trip we found ourselves with Ben and Jenny, our Airbnb hosts for a few nights. They were very friendly and welcoming. Currently they are on their own 4 month trip which includes Australia. It was interesting hearing about their plans and hopefully we gave the some good pointers for when they get to Melbourne, as they did for Glasgow!

Glasgow
We had only booked Ben and Jenny's place two nights before we left Belfast. At this point in our trip we had next to nothing on our itinerary, just vague plans. The only future date and time where we actually knew where we would be was vague plans to be back in Melbourne in January 2016! It was both exciting and frightening and it meant our plan for Glasgow was...well...to spend time planning! We wanted to organise our time in Scotland, then potentially the Netherlands and France. I also had some research work that really needed doing. 

Our planning plans meant we did not see as much of Glasgow as you would expect in four days, but we did enjoy what we chose to see...

The People's Palace and Doulton Fountain
The People's Palace is a beautiful building that houses a museum of social history. It is set on the Glasgow green next to a big glasshouse and a beautiful fountain. The collections in the museum gave us some insight into the lives of Glaswegians over different periods. For example, we found out about tenement homes, the "steamie" or communal laundry and stories surrounding volunteers of the recent Commonwealth Games. Something that really struck me was the experiences Glaswegians had during war-time. I cannot imagine having to send your children to the country-side to keep them safe. 

Outside the grand Palace building is Doulton Fountain, the largest terracotta fountain in the world. In incredible detail, the fountain that was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's reign and features a statue of Queen Victoria over a wide basin and four statues of water-carriers representing Canada, India, South Africa and Australia (represented, as the Scottish viewed us, in the 1800's). 

Doulton Fountain

Australia

Hashing
Something I had managed to organise before arriving in Scotland was for Rob and I to go hashing. It was a gloomy, wet day in Glasgow and we nearly bailed on the whole idea but decided to brave the weather. (It was unlikely to get better...it was Summer in Glasgow after all!) We are very glad we went. As with our experience of doing a hashing in Phnom Penh, everyone was extremely welcoming. The location of the hash was at Mugdock Country Park, north of Glasgow and not easily accessible by public transport. We took the train part of the way and then one of the regular hashers had kindly offered to pick us up.

What made our time on the Glasgow hash fun was that included a castle, a loch and, naturally, a zombie dance:

When Zombies attack

Mugdock Castle

Braving the rain...sort of

Dinner and music at Maggie May's
Whilst in Glasgow we went to Maggie May's to hear some music. I had actually hoped there would be some dancing but not this particular night. We weren't in Glasgow long before we realised that we could only understand every 5th word someone said and they had no clue what we we were saying. 

Also, in a sad story; Rob loves to try local beers wherever we go; upset that we had just missed the Glasgow Beer Festival 2015, he asked the woman at the bar "What local beers do you have? Anything you can recommend?"  

She said "I have no idea, do you want to try Murphy's?  It's Irish"

Rob responded "...umm no, I'd like to try something local, you pick"

And he will never make that mistake again.


Sister Act 
I think we perplexed our aribnb hosts quite a bit with our choices of outings in Glasgow and maybe our Sister Act outing topped the cake. Although Rob and I enjoy seeing the important historical and cultural sites of a place, it can get a bit much after almost 7 months on the road. I think that is what prompted me to look on the "What's on Glasgow" website. I hoped to find something a bit different, perhaps a bit interactive, and definitely non-touristy. That is how we found ourselves at C7 Church for their production of Sister Act! Given we both love the movie we thought "Why not!" It was a pretty great community production, with mostly good singing. Embarrassingly, we got directly mentioned by the pastor (who hailed from Sydney), not because we were Australian but because when asked earlier we had told someone we had found the production on the "What's on Glasgow" website! Oh happy days!

Sister Act!

The Lighthouse
Originally it was the name of the Scotland's Centre for Design and Architecture that caught my eye. Reading a bit more into it I found that you could get some good views over Glasgow from the top of the Mackintosh Tower. Jenny had also told us a bit about the architecture exhibitions available. Although some of the exhibitions were interesting, we were probably more about the staircase and the views to be honest.

Rob getting dizzy

Glasgow

Watch this video that explains how the Duke of Wellington keeps getting a
witches hat on his head!

Hello! Sue sdei! Where do you go? I don’t know!

Hashing in Phnom Penh

Rob has been talking about the Himalayan Hash House Harriers since the day I met him. Hash House Harriers is an international group of non-competitive social running clubs. Hashing involves following a path laid out by a Hare through all sorts of obstacles. Traditionally it is paired with the drinking of beer, which I less eagerly anticipated! 

 During Rob’s year in Nepal he was a regular Hasher. We had hoped to do a hash in Kathmandu whilst we were there but the stars did not align and we were not there on a Sunday (hash day). We vowed to look out for future opportunities and Phnom Penh turned out to be the city to host us!

We invited Tim (who we had been staying with in Ho Chi Minh and whose travel dates coincided with our stay in Phnom Penh) to join us. It was his first Hash too which meant we initially followed-the-leader rather than the white spray-paint that indicated the path. It also meant we were required to stand in the middle of the circle during the drinking songs and the end of the hash.

The hash got off to a very slow start. Meeting at the deserted train-station of Phnom Penh we were to wait a good hour before hopping on a cattle truck that took us to the ferry. Our hash was to be out in the country-side and after reboarding the cattle truck on the other side of the river, a few wrong turns, several tree branches in people’s faces, numerous bumps in the road and many looks of disbelief from locals, we arrived at our starting point: a primary school.

Tim and I on the way to our first hash

Our group was diverse, consisting of expats (or immigrants), locals and tourists aged from 25-60 with a wide range of backgrounds. Some were walkers (one of them showed up in dress shoes but everyone was relieved he had sneakers in his bag) and others ran. Our route involved rice paddies, temples, someone’s backyard, a boat crossing, roads and alleyways. Farmers stared at us; probably wondering why we weren’t in our hammocks at this time of day. I used my miniscule amount of Khmer to greet a farmer and it turned into a little rhyme:

Sue sdei!

Hello!

Where do you go?

I don’t know!

It must be very odd to find foreigners running in your fields looking like they are on a mission but realising they actually do not have the faintest idea where they are headed! 

The first crossing of the hash

Serenity

What are you people doing?

We passed through villages with many friendly waves and giggles from children. Towards the end it felt like we were finishing a marathon with the reception we got. Children waved tree branches and cheered and I felt like I should be more exhausted than I was! Don’t get me wrong, though it wasn’t a marathon; it was certainly a challenge. It was a very hot day and it has been awhile since I ran at all, let alone on uneven trails in scorching sun!

Marathon crowd :P

Smiley kids

Take my photo!

Taking a look at the previous photo

Once we reached our final destination the drinks were handed around and we formed a ceremonious circle. I opted for an electrolyte drink, until I was pulled in the circle and given a cup of beer. It felt rude not to take part. If someone from around the circle sat down on the ground they would be forced to sit on a huge ice cube in the centre. Rob had mouthed off early so also found himself in the middle of the circle with a pipe around his arm. His drink was a bit harder to swallow.

Rob's challenge, Tim and my beer that tasted like...beer

Circle time went on a bit too long for me with far more drinking songs than you can poke a stick at. We had told poor Steph (Tim’s wife) that we would be back before dinner but it was going to be much later by the time we took the journey back to Phnom Penh. Nevertheless, I enjoyed being surround by the local kids playing as the sun went down. 

Kids, probably wondering what one earth we were doing

We hope to do more hashing in other places this year and would recommend it to other travellers. It is a great experience, incorporates some exercise and the costs are minimal (US$5 in Phnom Penh). Visit the PP site here!

Ready to hash another day!