All good things must come to an end.
And at last, we’ve come to the end of this UK extravaganza excursion adventure thing 2023-2024. Was it fun? Yes. Was it long enough? Also yes. Does it feel like it’s time to move on? Also, also yes.
It’s 8:30 PM, and my flight from Edinburgh to Malaga is at 6:30 AM. So… I’ve got a bit of time to kill. Fortunately, the bus that goes to the airport runs 24 hours. And it’s only like a 15-min bus ride. That’s huge. An airport that’s connected to the city center via train or easy-to-understand bus is crucial. Then there’s cities like Tokyo, where each of their airports are 1-2 hours outside of the city, and good luck with those trains! I speak the language, and still I struggle.
How did I celebrate my last day here? Well. Yan and I woke up around 2 PM—a bit late, I suppose—then left and went on a hike. There are these hills overlooking the city, from where wegot some breathtaking views of Edinburgh before the sun went down… at 4:30 PM. By the time we were scaling the mountain downwards, it was pitch black. And the ground was muddy. And wet. So I guess it’s not surprising that one moment I did a highly animated, cartoon-style, feet-over-head slip backwards and splattered on the ground. My ass got soaked instantly, and worst of all, there were some French tourists nearby who witnessed the whole thing. I tried to play it off like it didn’t just happen, but Yan was dying from laughter, and this felt like salt in the wounds.
We also visited the veterinary school, which is named after its founder, William Dick. That’s right y’all: the vet school is called “The Royal Dick.” It’s got a giant golden engraving over the entrance and everything. The school is interwoven with a student center, offering many abstract art exhibits, a Gin distillery, and classrooms (which we may or may not have broken into) where horses and all types of animals were cut open and analyzed by Royal Dick students. Discovering this place really furthered the idea that you could wander, and discover anything in this city.
We had dinner at the mosque.
As we were coming back home to Yan’s place, he suddenly broke away to enter a cafe, explaining simply that he “needed his scissors.” After a few minutes he popped outside and invited me in. The owner was this Italian guy named Nonno, who’s married to a Thai woman, and is known throughout his neighborhood for his pizzas. He was rolling a joint when I met him, and after pouring us each a glass of Italian wine, invited us out for a smoke. There was another Italian guy out there smoking, and for some reason or another he kept speaking to me in Italian. And I, uh… just nodded, over and over, and pretended to understand everything.
Something I noticed these past several days in Scotland? No homeless people! Or at least they’re really, really hidden. But I’d say it’s more likely that when they hit the streets, the streets (i.e. the cops) hit them. Scotland is too clean to allow that filth in public.
What else? There’s a lot of live music happening here. In the bars. Bagpipes on the streets. People wearing kilts… well thankfully I didn’t see any skirt-wearing men. That shit is like… totally gay! And who knows, if I saw it, I might be inspired to wear one myself.
The Scottish accent is adorable and I wish I could be around it a bit longer. The people are amiable and inviting. They’re also reasonably attractive, maybe the most so in the UK.
The bars are awesome, on par with Ireland, if not a step ahead. The nightlife in Glasgow and Edinburgh is great too, and the fact that I can do karaoke virtually any night is a big win.
The food, as in the local food isn’t fantastic, and it’s certainly not worth what you’d pay for it. But the abundance of Indian and Middle Eastern immigrants means that there are cheap alternatives. Plus there are street markets and shit if you wanna grab something quick outdoors.
History buffs will find an unlimited amount of stories and history to draw from, and most of it starts sometime in the 1500’s. These buildings and monuments are still around, and still in use. Right alongside crypts, churches, necropolises, statues, execution sites, and more.
Nature is another thing in abundance in Scotland; the tap water is said to be the purest and best-tasting in the world. And just up north, in the Highlands (a place I didn’t have time for), there are valleys, bogs, and heavy snowfall. I’m leaving Scotland with a reason to come back.
Can you tell I like this place?
I think you would, too. In fact, I’m not sure who wouldn’t. People who don’t like accents? People who are poor? It’s a bit on the pricey side, but I never felt like I was wasting money. Of course, there are always ways to budget, and luckily I’d met Yan and a few know-hows in the hostels. And of course Scottish people are eager to share tips and knowledge as well.
So, I guess that’s it… for now. Back to Spain. Back to home base. Back to a new apartment. I’m ready for it. To be there, another six months. Add on one more year—if I decide to do my Master’s there. Either way, I’ll be happy. Life is too short to be unhappy. And when you can travel, and see the world and some of its natural beauty, you kinda have to.
Thanks for joining me on this journey! See you on the other side!
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