President Obama .... Yes We Can!

I have been following the US presidential campaigns since February 2008. In fact I know more about the US candidates than my country's election candidates! I know about their families, their service and their policies, all because they are transparent. I watched both Hillary's and Obama's rallies and marvelled at how they could talk and expressed themselves to the people. I visited their websites and read numerous blogs about them. Indeed, the American people are really fortunate because they are able to choose leaders whose personal background and public characters they know.

I watched MaCain and Sarah Palin and was quite familiar with their policies and tactics. The three debates between the two presidential candidates had enabled me to choose my favourite. Gradually I liked what I saw in Obama and started praying that he would win the election and become the US president. This man emanates trustworthiness and dedication.I become more convinced of his integrity after reading his book "The Audacity of Hope". I cannot describe him any further than what has already been said in thousand of words on the internet and mainstream press.

I like the First Lady Michelle too when I heard her being interviewed by Larry King on CNN, she was both simple, expressive and dignified. My only hope, and I am sure that of others as well is that Obama can deliver and fulfil most of his campaign promises. Not only are the citizens of United States of America hopeful but the rest of the world as well. The credit crunch started in America and it is only fair that the new President works toward lifting it and the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza... a monumental task but the words "Yes we can" keep ringing in our ears.

Ooops.. not the bugs again!

On my second last day in Edinburgh which was miserably cold and wet, I developed a sore throat and had started to croak.. and gosh! I forgot to take with me some antibiotics or antihistamine and not even a paracetamol for pain and fever though thankfully I had no temperature. I asked Zana for a sour plum and keep it in my mouth for some time.

Before that we were merrily hopping on and off tour buses to see Edinburgh attractions at 10 pound per person for one tour and at 13 pound per person for all four tours to different routes and ticket is valid for 24 hours.. so you guess which ticket did we buy? The Scots certainly know how to entice tourists to all their historical and entertainment spots. We had glimpses of the Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse where Mary Queen of Scot used to live and the grand old ship the Royal Brittania, altogether the trips lasted nearly three hours. Not many people on the buses as the weather had become foul by midday.

Had dinner again at Garfunkle's but by that time my appetite had deserted me.We returned to the Lodge in the drizzles and stayed by the fireplace while waiting for our room to warm up as we had opened a window before we left in the morning.Managed to buy OTC paracetamol with added caffeine and it was working by the time I hit the bed... but the caffeine was causing me problem all night.. remember it is a diuretic! I had a miserable time the next morning at breakfast when my favourite cereals and milk tasted like chalk and my poached eggs smelled yukky.. toast and butter are also off and my nasal congestion had worsened though miraculously my throat was no longer hot and sore.. thanks to the sour plum..

Back in London now and the temperature, at minus 10 degree C is colder than Antartica! For the last two days I did not venture out as my coughs had become a nuisance and did I imagine streaks of blood there..but still no fever and I took an antihistamine to relieve my congestion. Counting backward, I must have contracted the bugs in Brussels :( Tut.. tut.. thoroughly foreign species.

By the way, the train from Edinburgh was an older model without the dining car and the sophisticated toilet and would you believe it... no water in the toilet... gosh in Her Majesty's train? I believe the toilets in the whole train were without water..I had an emotional headache though the situation was not as bad as when I was traveling on a train from Beijing to Shandong, China some years ago.

Our "home" in Edinburgh

The hotel we stayed at is actually a lodge belonging to some wealthy Scot family and now turned into a bed and breakfast set-up. The double bedroom was large and the attached bathroom is unlike ordinary hotel.. it is fitted with a jacuzzi..Zana had a fun time in there. The heater was working wonderfully. The bed is comfortable with generous layers of warm sheets.There are tea-making facilities and complementary sherry, replenished as needed. There is however no minibar, if you need to have anything cold you would have to go to the lounge minibar and tick the selected items and enter your room number.

Kildonnan Lodge has a dining room and its chef Matthew has ever presented dishes for Her Majesty the Queen and ever worked for Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber as the occupancy is low, you need to make an advanced booking if you want him to cook for you. The common lounge is tastefully decorated with plenty of oriental vases beautifully arranged. The fireplace with real fire really makes the room warm, unpretentious and homely. The breakfast is hearty and Scottish. But I just love my cereals, baked beans,poached eggs and toast with plenty of butter (only during this travel to keep me warm ok),honey,yogurt and the veritable orange juice.

Actually along this road where the lodge is are other similar mansions and a series of bed and breakfast small hotels, in fact in front of ours, are smart-looking terraced houses some of which have been turned into B&B. At this time of the year there are a lot of vacancies but not in August when they have some kind of annual festivals.

The way to the city is most convenient.There are many buses No 3,7,8,31,37 coming every three minutes and the bus stop to the city is just across the road and from the city is less than two minutes walk. The fare is 1.10 pound per person and you can get a day pass for 2.50pound and travel on any bus for any number of time. The journey to the city is about 15 minutes. We got the day pass, shopped till we nearly dropped and hopped on the bus, deposited our heavy shopping bags in the hotel room, rested awhile near the lounge fire and off again to the city for dinner at the Garfunkle's fish and chips..and returned before 9pm.. It gets dark here by 4.30pm and shops close at 6pm. Somehow it was not colder than London as we had thought.But coming back to the hotel was just like coming home due to its private set-up.

Train Journey to Edinburgh

As I suddenly find that I have to spend more time in the UK due to my ticket problem, I have decided to visit Scotland and where else to if not its capital, Edinburgh. Zana had done all the necessary bookings from rail tickets right down to hotel accomodation. We started early to catch that 0830hrs train at London King's Cross which was on time. Yes, UK public transportations are notoriously on time! After the Eurostar experience to Brussels, we did not want to take any more chances and decided to travel first class.

The journey was pleasant,the carriage warm and staff friendly. This train is modern and fast and offers WiFi facilities. The seat is comfortable with ample leg room and it seemed to me the passengers of this class were kind of more "decent".This train has a dining car and you can go and have your meals and being served in comfort and style there. The rest room is very clean and spacious, no sliding of door, just push a button and the door opens, once inside you must remember to push the "lock" button otherwise you would be in full view if someone comes along and press that "open" button on the outside.

Window views changed from city to countryside which was bleak with bald brown hills interspersed with green in some parts. Sheep were grazing in those green fields and they looked like giant cotton balls. Towards the end of the journey, one can see the coastal areas with deep green-looking sea with occasional white waves lapping up. One or two ships could be seen in the horizon.The journey took about four hours. We arrived at Edinburgh Waverly station at 1413hrs.

We took a cab to our hotel, Kildonan Lodge, A four-star small hotel less than 10 minutes from the station and the cost was 10 pound. Actually if you know the city, you can come out of Waverly station to Princes St and catch a red Lothian bus No 3 from there to the hotel for 1.10 pound per person! Despite having internet connection, we failed to check that bit :( Indeed 8.90 pound can get you two beautiful lambswool scarves at sale price...