12 Days

I have to be up front and declare that I am not coming back with micro-sticks load of pictures. I taken less than what would make up a roll of traditional film in fact, and this was what I pondered upon in the last 24 hours as the last minute packing began.

I suppose Ireland is one country you would have to stand on its soil and experience it for itself. Perhaps it is the romantic in me to deny anyone else of that experience with a refrain from being the shutter-bug. I mean, if I did up a scrape book of sorts, you might then decide that you have seen it and thus need not make the journey yourself.

I am way early for my flight to London but it is because the weather has gone a bit grey and I did not want my last hours in Dublin, towing my bags, to be washed out. I had the sunnies with me in the 12 days - let's keep it that way.

I do not think a melancholic reflection is needed as I take my place in line for the flight to London - this was but my 1st trip. I'ld be back in about 365 days from now.

My personal ambition from now: save enough money so that on each annual trip, I'll be able to afford bringing along at least one other person so that they can see for themselves the richness of hospitality of this lil island that gets more rain then one can imagine, and containing (and preserving!!!) more history than we can ever read up on.

Slán go fóill Ireland with your fairies, leprechauns, Guinness and double-decker buses ~ see ya real soon!

Genuine Friendly

Aa nice Paddy seated opposite me on the train todaay to Galway asked if I was comfortable, navigating Dublin on my own, when I told that I had walked the historicaal part of the city using a podcaast and a map.

The truth is, like anywhere else in the world, there are parts of the city (as with Cork and quite possily with Galway too) that one would be ill-advised to wander off into by themself, or even in a group.

I did my walking tour after 7 pm (but hey - it's now 10 past 11 and the sun's just gone down!). This meant that most of the shops would be closed and the pedestrian traffic having died down. Yet, I never got that feeling that I had to look over my shoulder or clutch the bag that wee bit tighter. And mind you, the trail I followed was on the North side of the river Liffey - which is not somewhere you'd want to hang out.

Maybe it was a sense of false safety that had lodge in my head, i.e. if most of the people I had crossed paths with are so genuinely friendly - how could there be any bad persons here?! Which is wrong, I know.

The cab driver who stopped the meter from running cos we were going in circles, finding a particular place, the kindly Pops who walked me down the Quays to make sure I got on the right bus to catch the train, the chap who offered to drive me frmo the station to the hotel - they could be unique individuals. And yes, there were kindly ladies as well - like the lady of the pub who gave me her recipe for Steak & Guinness stew or the B&B owner, Lucy who made me a warm salt bath for my aching feet.

Nonetheless, all the strangers I have sat next to, shared lifts with or even just waited for the bus with have all lived up to the proud reputation of Irish hospitality.

Malaysian Airlines should really take a leaf out of their books, if they want to maintain that MH = Malaysian Hospitality.

What we don't see

I had te opportunity to visit a Physiology Museum a couple of days ago at one of our universities. Now this would be the room where bits of healthy AND diseased parts of our body are encased and put on display - just so medical students can see what things should be, and should not be.

If you're like me, a great fan of medical series ala Grey's Anatomy, you would be familiar with like anuerysm, malignant tumours, etc. But fortunately for us, the telly does not show us what effects these have on the body bits.

3 days in, I'm still haunted by those cross-section "remains". I now know what my grandfather's brains would have looked like after his long battle with Alzheirmer's. And the insides of Ben's mum's abdomen after her fight with cancer.

I am grateful that not everybody gets to see these items. It does not add to your knowledge of tihngs.

If anything, it only makes it more painful in remembering.

Odds and Ends

Often in life, we tend to take many of our body parts for granted. Perhaps wif e luxury of a car, my feet is 1 of em. 5 days on, I'm still hobbling wif no sign of recovery. All becos I din have proper shoes in e 1st 24 hours. The cost of my folley stands at €40 - a new pair of shoes for 1/3 & e rest on bandaids, comfort gel, etc. I am meant to do self-walk tours of Dublin. Somehow, I dun see tat working out anymore. Feet - just gotta love em!

50 years of Peter Pan

Days later, e telly still talks of e sudden death of Michael Jackson. HMV & all e stores pipe his songs as you shop. The weekend papers are doing major pullouts on e man today. And I wonder, is it cos he's gone tat we're keeping him on e front of our minds? We did not so much as whispered his name much in years! Such a pity & shame. Perhaps if everyone cared more, or was less fascinated wif him, he might not be gone so soon.

Back to Roots

As I got off e train at Cobh yesterday, I was swamped by a group of geriatrics from America. 1 dude was even wheeling his O2 behind him! You'll find them all over e place; coming as desendents of e 1 mil plus Irish who left 200 years ago wen e spud crop failed. It's amazing cos I can't see us doing e same, tracing e path back to our roots. Or perhaps, it's just me ...

Thirty-eighters

Someone, somewhere out there celebrates his 38th birthday today. And here I am, many miles away. Perhaps this is how he wants it to be ~ another statement of how he's a loner, and always would be. And as much as he says he wants the day to pass unnoticed, it's such a fib, thru and thru.

And so, it's said here, with the token pint in hand as day breaks over Dublin, a toast to a fine "boy", who despite his eccentricities, is as good as boys are made. His dreams for the year ahead are small, but with his big heart, it'll create big ripples for sure.

Happy 38th Birthday Boy! Pressie will come when my plane touches down on the 6th. You'll just have to make do for now with Goofy and this note :o)

We've gotta make sure that some year between now and 2024, I've gotta at least once, see you blow those candles out ~ and this is non-negotiable!