30 Days of Indie Travel Art Project (3-5)

Day 3: Travel Style 

I've traveled by airplane, bus, ferry, train, hitchhiking, walking, coach, taxi, truck, and camel. Trains are my favorite mode of transport, and camels my least.

I've stayed in massive hostels, medium-sized hostels, a bed and breakfast, smaller hostels, private homes in the suburbs, city, and countryside; in flats, hotels, Bedouin tents, under the stars in the desert, and one uncomfortable night in an airport. They were, with the exception of the hostel in Glasgow, fabulous.


Day 4: Favorite Method of Overland Travel

Trains are the best way to get around, if you can afford it. You can take a nap, walk around, eat a meal,  have a beer; whatever you like. You don't have to worry about traffic jams, and they mostly (depending on country) run on time. I usually spend the first part of my journey staring out the window at the scenery, but sooner or later I end up taking a nap. Something about trains puts me right to sleep.


Day 5: Passions Other Than Travel

Food!
I think I've devoted enough posts on the subject of strange and wonderful foods for this to not surprise anyone. With each new country I visit I discover a fantastic new food that I will miss when I leave. (If anyone can point me to a restaurant/pub/food stall that sells American style biscuits in the UK I will love you forever.)

Reading!
I am so glad I brought my Kindle along with me. It has made torturous coach rides tolerable, and kept me entertained while rabbit-sitting in the middle of nowhere on rainy days.

Knitting!
I brought a selection of knitting needles with me from the US. So far I've knit two hats, a shawl that took so long I can't even fathom it, and a Harry Potter scarf bookmark. I need to get to work on some baby toys I promised a certain someone... 

Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle

On Saturday I left Oban by bus (£9.40 to Fort William plus £10.20 to Urquhart). When I got to Urquhart Castle I realized that paying wasn't optional. The toilets, gift shop, view of the water, and tour of the castle were all one entrance. Since the next bus to Kyleakin was in six hours I decided to pay the £7.90 admission.

View of Loch Ness from the footpath to Drumnadrochit.

The full story is that I missed my stop at Urquhart and got off 2 miles down the road at the next stop. Luckily, there was a paved footpath along the road back to the castle, unluckily, I was carrying my 20 pound pack. 

I read every plaque and walked every inch of the castle ruins. That took about an hour, with much staring out at the water. 

View from castle ruins; of part of castle and Loch Ness. 

I then bought a hot chocolate at the cafe (£2.50) and plunked myself down at one of their tables watching movies on my phone until they closed at 16:30. 

I walked around the gift shop for a bit then decided I'd rather sit outside and hope a bus came early. It didn't. I waited outside until 17:45. In the rain. The bus to Kyleakin was £20.40!! And it was dark out so I didn't even get to enjoy the view. I wasn't expecting to spend so much on bus fare, and I had just enough. 

Skye Backpackers was mercifully close to the bus stop in Kyleakin. I stayed in one of the caravans (Starship Enterprise, Sulu bed) behind the hostel (£12/night). 
It's a bit loud and chaotic here compared to Oban. The showers are spread out in the main building, and aren't as nice as Oban's. The people tend to clump together based on language spoken, which is unfortunate. It's not a bad hostel by any means, and the price is good, but it isn't as homey as Oban.