A Highland Long Weekend
If you only had 3 days in Scotland, what would you do to capture the essence of Scottish life? This was the dilemma faced by my school friend Dzung (pronoung Yoong) and I, as we planned his whirlwind tourist jaunt in the last weekend of October.

Typically, October is the wettest month in one of the wettest countries in the world, yet we still decided to venture north into the rugged and unpredictable Scottish highlands. What defines the beauty and history of Scotland better than the stark munros and stone castles of the north-western highlands? On a wet, windy and miserable Friday, we headed north and made ourselves familiar with the hire car as we weaved our way through narrow, picturesque roads.

We passed by the western shores of Loch Lomond, spent some chilly moments bounded by striking mountains in the stunning Glen Coe and were treated to a very civilised lunch on the shores of Loch Leven. What was meant to be a quick pitstop in Fort William turned into a more substantial visit, as we tried some of the local Scotch Whisky at Ben Nevis Distillery (which didn't agree with Dzung's palate!) and wandered through the ruins of a local castle. Since the eery grey of daylight would soon turn to the pitch black of night, we continued on towards the Isle of Skye, past the photogenic Eilean Donan Castle (left) and over the road bridge to Scotland's most popular highland island.

By dusk we'd reached Portree, the largest town on the island, and settled into an immaculate Bed & Breakfast overlooking the water. We headed into town where the local culinery selection was limited but adequate. We chatted briefly to an Aussie from Darwin and also sampled the local music of a young rock band at the liveliest pub we could find.

The next morning we rose to a beautiful sight: the wind and rain has stopped and the sky cleared enough to reveal an array of natural colours that had been dulled by the clouds of the previous evening. The weather forecasts had all predicted wind and rain, so to see sunshine and blue sky was an unexpected blessing. Dzung and I went into overdrive with our cameras, making the most of our digital cameras.

The rare appearance of the sun inspired us to go for a walk up to the jagged rocks of the Old Man of Storr, north of Portree. Before we began, the blue sky revealed the peaks of the near vertical towers of rock, shown to the left. By the time we began journeying through the pine forest at the base, the wasps of cloud had already began to coalesce at the mountain top. Fortunately for us, the clouds didn't immediately produce any rain, so we were able to enjoy the scramble around unstable rocky slopes without getting drenched.

The coastal scenery further up the northern peninsula made watching the road a bit of a bore - it took us much longer than expected. The folded rock sheets of Kilt Rock and the shafts of sunlight through clouds over Uig were the main highlights. By the afternoon, a steady drizzle had beset Skye, so that Dunvegan Castle on the west coast was barely visible even from a nearby vantage point.

As the day quickly slipped away from us, we decided to head back to the mainland and aim for Aviemore near the Cairngorm Mountains that night. We were waylaid somewhat by colourful sunsets (one of Dzung's photographic duties) and hitchhikers lining the road. One of our backseat vagabonds happened to be an environmental scientist from Australia - she's now a potential employee for the company I work for!

We passed Loch Ness in the dark and made it as far as Inverness before stopping for the night. After checking into a B&B with super-soft beds, we were treated to a delightful Indian meal overlooking the full-flowing River Ness. A trip to Scotland wouldn't be complete without a ceilidh (pronounced 'kaylee'), and we visited a local pub with live music where I participated in an ad hoc rendition of 'Strip the Willow', alongside a fairy and pirate dressed up for Halloween.

An extra hour that night asleep in the comfy beds was definitely needed, knowing that we would head straight down to Edinburgh for our final day. We passed through Aviemore and got a taste for the grandeur of the mountainous surrounds, but didn't have a chance to stop and soak in the atmosphere.

When we reached Edinburgh, we powered up Arthur's Seat and appreciated the panorama (alongside hundreds of others) on an unseasonally bright Autumn day. It was a shame that we could only spend a couple of hours in the nation's capital, but when you've only got three days...

That night, Dzung met some friends from church for 'tea', which had been surreptitiously planned as a surprise belated birthday party. Anna and Rosie designed a generous celebration replete with party hats and all 27 candles on the cake. We had great fun stretching our minds and sharing funny YouTube videos. By the way, what three letters can be put at the start and at the end of the following letters to produce a commonly used word: _ _ _ ergro _ _ _ ?

In other news, I will be back in Australia between December 23 and January 15. For you Aussies out there, I'm looking forward to sharing a sunny Christmas and New Year with you!