So it begins

Solo once more

Published Date : May 31, 2001

Carrying everything I own

Carmen was gone when I woke up this morning.  She caught an early train back to Edinburgh to get to work this afternoon.

Packing up my things, I headed back to the train station to head south to Chester in western England.  I arrived in mid-afternoon after a 4-hour train journey.  Once again I was staying at the YHA.  These hostels are always fantastic buildings in scenic locations, but they are rarely convenient for walking.  Chester was no exception.

After dropping my pack, I headed back into town for a walk through.  This is really a beautiful city and I’m looking forward to exploring it more tomorrow.

My first order of business is some banking though.  I have been waiting for my vacation pay to be deposited for the last couple of weeks, but haven’t seen any sign of it.  Running scarily low on cash, I need to follow up with my former employer to find out what’s happening.

A day of surprises

Published Date : June 1, 2001

The walled city of Chester

I woke up this morning to a voice message from my parents.  It turns out I was accepted into one of the programs I applied to at BCIT.  Back in October I had been informed that I didn’t have the necessary pre-requisites.  Apparently that doesn’t matter so much when they have seats they need to fill.

I need to reply to them by the end of the week to confirm whether or not I’m going to be starting in September.  Now if that doesn’t throw a huge monkey wrench in the travel plans.  I’m going to have to take the next couple of days to think things over.

Surprise number two came from my former employer.   The vacation pay I had been awaiting had actually been included in the last paycheque I received before leaving Edinburgh.  The person who had told me it would be paid out separately had been misinformed.  Silly me, I hadn’t looked over my last pay stub and had been making plans on money that wasn’t coming.  Doh!  I have just enough to get me to London, but not a penny more.

My plans for exploring Chester had to go through a quick change.  I had been hoping to take a guided walking tour around the city walls, but all extra expenses had to be cut.  Despite missing out on some of the history and additional information that a guide can provide, I still had a fantastic day exploring the city

Southward bound

Published Date : June 2, 2001

Street performer in Bath

After a lazy start to the day, I continued south to Bath.  I considered bypassing it and going straight to London, but after looking at the costs, it wouldn’t have saved me anything so I carried on with the original plan.

To my surprise, I discovered that not only does Bath have a fringe festival, but that festival was in full swing when I arrived.  The streets were thrumming with tourists and performers.  Luckily I had pre-booked a room at one of the hostels, so I didn’t have to face a repeat of Munich.

Speaking of the hostel, it’s actually quite nice, but some of the guests are apparently raving loons.  There are two couples who are long-term residents of the place and appear to be friends of the owner.  I have no problem staying long-term in a hostel at all.  The problem is that both couples have three very young children between them, two toddlers and an infant in fact.  Seriously?  Toddlers and a baby in a backpacker’s hostel?  What on earth are these people thinking?

I have yet to find a spot in this building where I can’t hear the baby crying.  I guess I’m not going to be sleeping for the next two nights

Brats and Baths

Published Date : June 3, 2001

The famous Roman Baths

I was woken early by screaming brats in the common area.  Making my way to the kitchen to take advantage of the free breakfast, I saw that I wasn’t the only person shooting dark looks at the two couples this morning.  More than one person at my table commented that if there had been any other rooms left in the city they would have asked for a refund and moved already.

Quickly finishing my breakfast to escape the shrieking and wailing, I headed out to explore the town.  My first stop was the Roman baths.  Despite my tight budget, I wasn’t going to come to this city and not check out its namesake.  Ever since my first introduction to Roman architecture two years ago I’ve been fascinated by what they were able to build.  The Roman baths were no different.  The under-floor heating and intact clay pipes are a marvel.  It makes me wonder how many things that we build in modern times will stand up to the test of time the way so many Roman buildings have.

I found myself a tasty and cheap meat pie for lunch at a little bakery before I continued my explorations.   Having never really taken an interest in any Jane Austen books, I wasn’t too interested in seeing the museum, but someone offered me a free pass as I was leaving the baths and I figured it was worth checking out.  I did find the museum interesting, but I think it would have been better if I had been familiar with her books.

Returning to the hostel for a complimentary bbq dinner, I spent the evening socializing in the lounge.  There I learned that the two couples with the children had gone out of town for a couple of days.  It looks like I’ll get some sleep tonight after all.   Yes!

Before turning in for the night, I called my parents with my decision about school.  I thought it would be harder to temporarily give up on my travel plans, but it turned out to be a surprisingly easy decision to make.  It all came down to the money.  I’ve changed my mind about what I want to do with my life so many times in the past year, and that has shown me that I may never really figure it out.  By taking two years to go back to school and gain a skill, I’ll be able to continue to travel and figure things out on a much higher income.  While travelling on a limited budget is rewarding, I can’t help but think of all the travel plans I’ve had to give up in the past year simply because I couldn’t afford them.  I’d much rather be trying to figure out what I want on a decent salary than on minimum wage!