chat-huant's hoot hoot: 6th day: Thu 7/10/10 Edinburgh: Royal Yacht Britannia,Rosslyn Chapel, Calton Hill

Another early start. Catched the first bus from Inverness to Edinburgh. But because I was so early, the kitchen in the hostel was locked and my lunch and breakfast was left in the fridge there. *Sob* *sob* *sob*. I hope it finds its way to an empty stomach of tenant there instead of into the bin. The cold prawn pasta is quite tasty :( But the Scottish egg was not impressive. The day before, I tried microwaved it and it sort of exploded :P

Anyway, the sunrise view along the journey from Inverness to Edinburgh was worth mentioning. It kept me awake for some time before I dozed off again. In a bus, somehow my sleep button is ON automatically.

At Edinburgh bus station near St Andrew Square, it was just a short walk to my hostel, Princes Street Backpacker Hostel. It is behind Burger king that is opposite Balmoral Hotel. It is of perfect location as is very near Princes Street and Waverly train station. Fairly priced too. But one has to climb a long staircase to reach the hostel which is at the topmost floor. And if you walk through West Register Street to go there you might meet some drunkards around the corner. But if walk from Burger King, you would feel safer. There is a pub named Guidlford Arms downstair is not rowdy or noisy. Went to the bus station information centre to get more information. I wished I have printed a bus map beforehand because there are too many stops and too many buses.

I got a day Lothian bus pass to go to Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith. The entrance is inside the shopping centre in Ocean Terminal. Was very hungry hence shopped for lunch in Mark & Spencer. Not the cheapest option but in dire need to feed the empty stomach. The Royal Yacht is very impressive. Entrance fee is GBP10.50 (audio guide included) but worth it. The ship was launched in 1953 and served for 44 years. Now, visitors can discover what life was like on board the ship for the Royal Family and crew. One can even book the Royal Deck or State Dining Rooms for special occasion. The visit took me near 2 hours because there is so much to see. There is Queen's bedroom, honeymoon suite for Princess Diana& Prince Charles, officer's ward room , laundery room, kitchen, state dining room, anterooms, engine room. Is really a massive ship. Met my weakness there, Royal Yacht Britannia fudge. Is not cheap but I wanted to try its rum &raisin and whiskey &raisin fudge. The latter is delicious!

Got into a bus back to Princes Street but struggled to find the bus stop that has bus going to Rosslyn Chapel in Roslin. I walked around St Andrew Square looking for the bus desperately. A bus driver directed me to the correct stop but too late for an earlier bus. Bus to Roslin is infrequent. Waited for more than half hour for the bus and because is after school time, traffic was heavy. It took an hour to go there and by the time I reached the chapel at 435pm, it was closed for admission at 430pm. Fortunately, there were 4 more visitors behind me who also wanted to visit the chapel. And so, we were allowed in but only for 20 minutes and we had to pay full fees. No discount despite only 20minutes allowed and no guide (guide has gone home). Scotland's places of attraction are never flexible on fees and closing time. Does not matter you came from far. They close at 5pm sharp and would never extend an extra 5minutes. There is no negotiation at all and this is one of the disappointing fact about tourism here. As a doctor, even when patient turned up at door when closing, we never turned them down and quite frequent, I work extra free hours. I do not understand why people can be so strict about the opening and closing time...

Anyway, Rosslyn Chapel is in dire needs of restoration. The carvings are very beautiful and each has its own story. There is Dance of Death, the Green Man face, the upside down angel, etc. I wished I had more time to just sit and admire the chapel. No photography is allowed inside the building. By 5pm, I had to leave....

The bus back to town took another 1 hour. Walked to Calton Hill. There is a long and steep staircase up to the top. From Calton Hill, one can get a 360* view of Edinburgh. There is a city observatory centre, Nelson monument, Dugald Stewart monument, National monument and view of Firth of Forth. The night view was great too. Lonely Planet does advise not to come here at night but there was quite a lot of tourists at that time hence I felt safe enough to venture...

Walked back to Princes Street for window shopping. Met a new friend in the hostel, Kathrin, a German doctor who works in Switzerland and her boyfriend is a Malaysian. Very nice and humble girl.

Good night sleep....