Colcannon and Chewy Pizzas..Ireland/Naples, July 2004

This year we used SIA for the long haul flights. I found the beds were quite easy to sleep on, even though they still tilt 8 degrees at maximum extension. However, at no time did I slide under the seat in front of me. In Europe, we used El Cheapo airlines, and one of them - Virgin Express - charged for food at a high rate - 4 Euros for an indifferent roll, and 2 Euros for a can of cheap beer.

We drove around Ireland and Northern Ireland in a clockwise direction staying close to the coast, starting and finishing at Dublin. In summary, I thought that the natural features, particularly the seascapes, were the highlights of the country. These natural features lacked the stunning and forbidding nature of the Scottish Highlands, being generally green and fertile in nature, with all of the country being closely settled (like the Lowlands of Scotland). The man made structures were not memorable, in my view.

Of the natural features, the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast were, I thought, the best - at around 700 feet sheer, these are the tallest cliffs in Europe, and extend for about 5 kms. The peninsulas extending on the south west corner presented very well, with outstanding seascapes, some very narrow roads along and around cliffs (I found it interesting that along almost all of the way to the cliffs there were new housing estates). A second peninsula in the North ("The Atlantic Drive") was equally picturesque. The Giant's Causeway, a world class sight, ranked high. Two poignant sights were the Old Head of Kinsale (near Cork in the south east), just off which the Lusitania went down with the loss of 1179 lives in 1915, and Mullaghmore Bay (near Sligo on the west coast) where Lord Louis Mountbatten, his grandson, and a local were exploded on a boat by the IRA in 1979.

Man made features included ancient tombs (at least one of which - Newgrange - predates the Pyramids), castles (we saw a number of these, but none was memorable), manor houses, and in Dublin Trinity College was an interesting place (particularly the Old Library, which contains the ancient Book of Kells). We saw one or two modest historical parks, dealing with the development of Ireland over the centuries - these were interesting.

Ireland is quite expensive, with petrol at SGD2 (equivalent ) a litre. Most hotels cost at least SGD200 (eq) a night, and evening meals for two (admittedly with two pints of Guinness/beer) around SGD100 (eq). Lunches were about SGD60 (eq) for two. The quality of the food was good, and the variety wide, with potato featuring, particularly in traditional dishes such as colcannon and champ. House prices much more expensive than Singapore, and new houses are springing up even in the remote parts of the country. It is difficult to see what supports people living in these new houses in remote parts, but we were told that many are holiday homes for Americans and British.. The cities were particularly clean in the south, though once in the Northern Ireland, this standard of cleanliness fell, with Derry (formerly Londonderry) being the worst (parts of this city - mostly in the Catholic Bogside - are still covered with Nationalist graffiti). Belfast was not much better than Derry.

Dublin has become the venue for music loving young people from around Europe, attending music festivals which are virtually always on. Many fly there on El Cheapo airlines for a weekend of listening to music, drinking and generally having fun. Dublin is proud of its literary heritage, and readings of the works of James Joyce and W.B. Yeats are regular. It is not an outstanding city, though it has a large and gracious Georgian section (and 800 or so pubs!). Skyscrapers are forbidden though a 395 foot high needle like Spire was erected in the middle of the city in 2003. The Liffey River is very narrow and ordinary, though it is crossed by a number of unusual wrought iron bridges. The city aspires to be a financial centre, and has a business area devoted to this. It has been very successful for the location of Fund Management companies.

In all, Ireland was worth visiting, but it is not a place that I would return to.

We moved on to Naples, overnighting in London, from where we flew directly to Naples. An evening in the centre of London took us on the tube from Heathrow (where we stayed) - the tube appears to be in a state of decay. Shopping at Fortnums, and dinner in Chinatown with an old friend.

Naples is much the same as it was 10 years ago - maybe gone backwards a bit. We had a magnificent room on the top floor of the Jolly Hotel. The view, over Naples Bay to Capri and Ischia was outstanding. Naples is as expensive as Ireland, though the high quality pizza (chewy, not crunchy, crusts - in the Neapolitan style ) was not expensive (the locals buy pizzas in vast quantities).

We revisited the Archeological Museum, the two well known castles (Nuovo and Dell'ovo), and Sorrento (which had become much more touristy). The rocks along Via Carraciolo were revisited. These serve as a popular swimming place for the locals, and being summer, it was swarming with people - the girls and women are generally buxom to very buxom, and many had their bathing costumes almost on ! The saying "See Naples but watch your wallet" proved true for me. On one mid afternoon I went without Kim to investigate restaurants near the Castel Dell'ovo for a possible dinner the same night. This took me off the elevated main road, down some stairs to the restaurants (which are on a wharf in a marina). I passed a group of youths swimming, and went to each of the restaurants to read their outside menus (being mid afternoon they were closed for siesta). Returning along the wharf, I was suddenly accosted by two of the youths I had passed previously. They immediately tried to pull my carry bag from me but it was looped around my neck, so they had no success, although they tried three times. After that, I was able to stand heavily on the foot of one of them (the other had given up). He shouted (presumably swear words), and hobbled back to his friends, some of whom then took the opportunity to throw handfuls of pebbles at my departing back. Later on, I observed (from a distance) that the group had returned to the main road, and grabbed the bag of an old gentleman, who was shouting and waving his walking stick at them, whilst they ran off. The food in Naples had improved (to my mind), and of course the gelato are fit for a king.

From Naples, we flew on to Amsterdam, virtually in transit to Singapore. Amsterdam remains the same - a good place for food and shopping. The weather turned for the worse in the day or so we were there, so no chance of visiting the beach.