Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling, Scotland (15-21 August, 2006)

I had days to kill in the UK, so off I went to Scotland. It was the peak of the Edinburgh festival and the tattoo was in full swing. I was lucky to find any student youth hostel accommodation at all! I went to the Edinburgh Castle of course, hiked to Arthur's seat, before I left for Glasgow where I stayed at Univ. of Glasgow Murano street student village which is in a somewhat shady neighborhood. I used Glasgow as a base to visit Stirling Castle. Highlights include the Elephant House, the famous cafe where J. K. Rowling got her inspiration (Edinburgh), and some of the finest Indian cuisine in Glasgow, the curry capital of the world: the Dhabba, which, untrue to its proletariat etymology, was extremely expensive. I got a real flair for the common folk at Glasgow. Unlike the touristy Edinburgh with its quaint "closes", parts of Glasgow are extremely sketchy and can be littered, but it gives one a sense of association with the local working class. Unsurprisingly, parts of Glasgow are extremely gentrified too.

Festival mob at Edinburgh


The beautiful St. Giles Cathedral or the High Kirk of Edinburgh on the Royal Mile.


The Castle







Beautiful stained-glass window in the oldest building in all of Edinburgh - St. Margaret's Chapel, a tiny Norman building which has been intact for more than 900 years!



The Scottish National Parliament. Cool looking but at a whopping 400 million pounds, ten times its original estimate!


Palace of Holyroodhouse


A tarn en route to Arthur's Seat


Arthur's Seat. No connection with the legendary King Arthur!




Glasgow Cathedral


The crypt where Glasgow University was founded


The adjacent Neoclassical ruins of the Necropolis, a crumbling but beautiful cemetery.



George Square, Glasgow


Of course, can anyone go to Scotland and not have Haggis (in my case, vegetarian) and IRN-BRU?


(MacKintosh) Willow Tea Room on Argyll St.



At Stirling Castle


Apparently they discovered a piece of wall with this ugly-colored coat intact and so they spoiled the look of the castle by painting it.