Wales

(1) Because the United Kingdom and Ireland are rather expensive places to be hanging out, my plan was to charge through the major componants of both nations and then scoot over to mainland Europe. So, after seeing London in England, I moved on to Cardiff, the capitol of Wales (Northern Ireland and Scotland make up the other two parts of the UK, by the way). I found a bed at the very friendly, and very quiet, Cardiff Backpackers Hostel, and enjoyed another sunny day wandering around Cardiff Castle and the surrounding area.

(2) During the daytime, Cardiff likes to pretend that it's a calm, relaxed city. Even the grounds just outside Millennium Stadium, the rugby Mecca seen here to the left, are peaceful and heavenly. In fact, everything remained this way until later in the night when a few of us travelers from the hostel emerged from a restaurant only to find that all hell had broken loose. Drinking, fighting, yelling, and general debauchery spilled out onto the streets as Cardiff turned into the biggest party I had ever seen. Seriously, to this day, I am yet to find another city that manages to lose its collective mind for no apparent reason. It was great. I've explained this to some Brits that I've met and they all smile and say, "Well, that's Cardiff."

(3) Here I am with B.K. on the deck of our overnight ferry to Ireland. I couldn't pronounce his name, so I just called him by the two-letter nickname of one of his fellow Korean contrymen, Major League Baseball pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim. With the Welsh port city of Swansea glimmering in the distance, we set sail for Ringaskiddy (just outside Cork). The boat was like a refuge camp. As some of us sat in the bar drinking beer, many others curled up on whatever floor and couch space they could find on the ship, passing out for the night. The smart ones, upon boarding, made immediate dashes for the good sofas and best quiet, dark spots - I saw an entire family huddled up under a stairwell. Though it was a cold, uncomfortable journey, I was pleased to enter Ireland by sea.

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