Written Works by Hosun Lee London Travel Journals   A Weekend in Dublin or (Hey Greg A., Having Fun Reading This? B-) Or The Horrifying and Historical Legacy of Sinead O'Connor by Hosun Lee Before I start my review of Dublin, there is a joke that I must tell. This'll get you in the mood for the article, and give you a bit of a feeling for how I felt during the trip. Q: Which country has the largest capital in the world? A: Ireland, because it's DUBLIN every day! Nyuck, nyuck. Get it? Dublin? Doubling? You should note that I told this joke to almost everyone I met while in Dublin, and surprisingly enough, no one tried to hurt me (at least, not permanently) Anyway, here's how it went. Myself and two anonymous friends (Hi, Stephanie!) thought that going to Dublin would be a really cool way to spend a weekend. Well, it was either that, or spend the weekend doing incredibly fascinating things like watching reruns of Walker, Texas Ranger. GETTING TO THE AIRPORT Our flight to Dublin was from Stansted Airport. It's 30 minutes from London via British Rail. If you go to Liverpool station (which is on the far east end of the circle and central line), you can catch an express train to the airport. A return ticket costs about £3.80. You may find it cheaper to return to a different station though (I did). Keep in mind that if you purchased a return ticket to Stansted, you will not be able to stop at a different station. So plan your return trip carefully. There was a slight detour to the duty-free shop when we arrived at Stansted. My compatriots took the moment to indulge their desire for various duty-free goods (By the way, duty-free shops are GREAT places to buy things like film and alcohol. It's much cheaper there than anywhere around. Keep that in mind when you're planning your trip. It may be cheaper for you to pick up some of your essentials at the airport (like rolls of film)). The flight to Dublin was only an hour. Dublin airport was pretty quiet, with almost (well, actually zero) security. DUBLIN HO! Our first problem was that none of us had any of the local currency. The Republic of Ireland uses its own pound, call the punt (pronounced, poont). It's about UK£.95 to IR£1. What this means is that expect to pay much more in Ireland (the VAT alone is 21%, compared to the UK's 17%). The Bureau de Change at the airport was closed at 10:00pm. So, we had the dilemma of not having any money, and not knowing where we were going. We thought that we might have a reservation at the Dublin International Youth Hostel. Unfortunately, no one was really sure about that, as the call got disconnected while we were making the reservation. So, there was a possibility that they'd be waiting for us. There was also an equally great possibility that they'd have absolutely no idea who we were, besides being annoying. We went to the help desk, where the lady behind the help desk dutifully told us that there were no ATMs at all in the airport. I then walked turned around and walked towards an ATM (It's right next to the game center in the air port, on the ground floor). Keep in mind that the ATM in the airport, as well as many of the ATMs in Dublin, are on the Cirrus system. Meaning that if your ATM card only supports PLUS, then you're douched. Fortunately, our Barclay's cards did work in the ATM. We then headed for the city center, as we were supposed to meet the fourth member of our quarter near the rail station. I think we seriously annoyed a lady who operated a candy store at the airport. We all coins, so we bought candy costing IR£35p, and paid with IR£20 notes. I wasn't sure, but she kept growling every time she looked at us, and the fact that her face expressed mountains of contempt were clues as to how loved we were. Either that, or she had dinner at the Well-Fed Cafe (see below). We arrived at the train station (the bus cost £2.50), but the station was closed. We panicked for about 10 minutes, since we had no idea at all how to meet up with our last member. She had no idea where we would be staying during the night. So, in desperation, we did the most sensible thing. We started screaming her name out, and voila, she appeared out the ebony night and into our midst (true story, she just popped out of there). It was like an epiphany. Our friend had the dubious distinction of having arrived at around 4:00pm, and had spent the entire day at pubs and eating fish and chips. She did, however, manage to find a hostel for us. A person she met gave her directions to a nearby hostel, and told her to say that, "Seamus sent us" (which sounds rather goofy, as there must be half a dozen Seamuses in the pub alone). One thing which we learned at this point was that while in Ireland, it's a very, very good idea to pick up a phone card. They're similar to the ones here, although the Dublin phone cards are much prettier. Making calls by coins are extremely expensive, and it's very hard to find coin-operated phones. (We tried calling the Dublin Youth Hostel, but it took us 30 minutes to find a coin operated phone, and it was out of order.) (Oh yeah, and there weren't any ads for cheap sex in the booths. Maybe they're more prudish over there.) THE FIRST NIGHT OR TWO So we followed her lead, and after about 5 minutes, we ended up at the Abraham Youth Hostel. The staff we talked to were very opinionated, but also extremely helpful (for example, they said to avoid the hostel next door, as they can't seem to keep their hands off of you. Beats me if that's true or not). The hostel also had a Bureau de Change on the ground floor, which was very convenient as well. We each paid about IR£15 for two nights, as we weren't sure where we'd be staying. With that came continental breakfast, which was filling. The staff is very knowledgable in area hostels, so you should listen to their advice. The hike to the rooms were a bit of a bother. If you're feeling overweight, it's a great way to exercise and shed some pounds. We had a dorm-style room with two bunk beds. Next to the room was a toilet and shower, which were ours. The rooms were very comfortable, with sheets, beds and all of those neat things. The only problem was the fact that there was no lock on the door. That is, the door could be locked, but only from the outside. After we went to bed, we discovered the other problem with the hostel. It was cold, really, really cold. Extremely cold. I'm pretty sure I saw some Penguins ice skating in the middle of the night. Abraham Youth Hostel had a great staff, great beds, toilets and a great location. They had cruddy insulation. The next day, we headed out to see Dublin. It's hard to describe Dublin. Well, actually, it's pretty easy, but I'm just too lazy to be eloquent right now. I'm already on page three, as it is. Dublin is like London, but calmer and architecturally cooler. There are lots of fascinating bridges, and the streets are varied, ranging from cobbles to pavement. It's a breathtaking city. If you liked London, you'll love Dublin. It's less hectic, but with tons of interesting things to do and see. Our first stop was lunch. And it was possibly the most entertaining thing we did. We had lunch at The Bad Ass cafe, which is in Temple Bar (a section of Dublin with lots of pubs and restaurants). Outside of the cafe there is a sign which explains the historical significance of this elegant establishment. Sinead O'Connor worked there before she hit it big (well, that is, if you believe that she ever "hit it big"). The cafe was AWESOME. The menus are hysterical, where the foods range from He-Man 100% Beef Burgers to Macho Mucho Nachos. The service system is neat. There is a wire and pulley system on the ceiling. The waitress takes your order, puts it in a little cup on the wires, pulls a handle, and your order rockets across the room towards the kitchen. It's soooo cool. They also sell Bad Ass shirts and caps. For about IR£7, we got an exceptionally delicious and low-priced meal. Whatever you do, you *MUST* go to The Bad Ass Cafe for lunch (They also have a dinner plan where two can get a complete meal and a bottle of wine for IR£20). Our second stop was at The Winding Stair Bookshop and Cafe, and the name describes it all. It's a bookshop/cafe, but don't expect something like Barnes and Nobles or Border Books. It's a three story wooden building. The ground floor has books on Irish lore. The first and second floors have books covering other topics. Most of the books you'll see are second-hand books, but they're all in good condition. The top floor has a modest cafe. We didn't eat their, though, so we can't comment on that. The one thing we did do while we were there was to pick up a copy of In Dublin, which is the Dublin equivalent of Time Out. It's about IR£2 or so. It has more listings of clubs, cafes and places to go than Time Out, but In Dublin doesn't have as many in- depth stories or reviews. Comfortingly enough though, they have a very sarcastic tone, much like Time Out (maybe a bit more, their review of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a classic. Oh yeah, it's playing in Dublin). Our third stop was the Guinness Brewery. Contrary to the name, you don't actually go into the brewery, but the museum which is right next to the brewery. The brewery is a huge, imposing building with large, black wooden gates. The smell is wonderful, there is the smell of sugar everywhere. The museum was, well, hokey. You pay about IR£2 to enter the museum. With it, you get a two tokens for a half pint of Guinness (meaning that you get a free pint of Guinness with your admission). We got to see the history of Guinness, wax figures, replicas of factory equipment, and even a multimedia presentation on Guinness. I was....how can I describe it? I was....confused. No, confused is the wrong word, I was actually weeping for society. I don't know about you, but a 15 minute presentation on the healing properties of Guinness, the role it has in history, literature and the world economy is well....pathetic. Someone actually spent the time to do all of this. I mean, geez, couldn't have done something more useful? Like, re-shelve library books? Geez, I don't mind hearing "Guinness is Goodness," but geez guys, do you have to keep saying it over and over again? At least give me a second to catch my breath. After the video is over, you're directed to the pub, where the only thing they serve is Guinness (try asking for a peach schnapps with lemonade, and see what they do to you). Next to the pub is the gift store, where the staff has somehow managed to exceed the boundaries of tastelessness. Every product you could think of that involves Guinness is there (and some you never wanted to think of). There are shirts, jackets, playing cards, cups, key chains, cameras, lighters, and very probably a miniaturized brewery somewhere in the corner. I was looking for the official Guinness(TM) Axe so that I could wipe out this abomination off of the face of the earth. Well, okay, I lied, but I did briefly wish for a big flood (hopefully, not one that's an official Guinness(TM) product). After leaving the brewery, I realized that I really, really hate Guinness. I hated the taste of it, but after the campiness of the museum, I was ready to devote the rest of my life to stamping out Guinness breweries (well, at least, maybe thinking nasty thoughts about them). I'm sorry for being such a heathen and ignorant lout about it, but the thing tastes horrible! The other days were a bit of a blur. I do remember eating lunch at the Well Fed Cafe, and I wish I didn't. The name is a total lie. It's a vegetarian cafe, and they obviously don't believe in eating meat. Apparently they don't believe in fire or cooking, either. It was cold in there, and so was most of the food. I'm pretty sure none of the food I ate had ever seen the inside of frying pan or an oven. I had a bean burger, and what was very possibly a rice salad, although I'm pretty sure rice isn't supposed to be so slimy or crunchy. The most edible thing was the chocolate cake, which may very well have been placed next to a piece of chocolate once, several years back. In other words, unless you're a die-hard vegan, avoid this place. And even if you a die-hard vegan, renouncing your dietary habits just this once will save you a life time of gastronomic nightmares. We spent our last night at The Kinlay House, which is near Temple Bar. It's right next to Christ Church. The building is nice and designed tastefully. It looks like how you'd imagine a traditional European inn, with lots of stairs and well-crafted woodwork. We paid IR£7.50 each. It was warm, and the place felt more professional. Each corridor had a series of rooms with two bunk beds each. Unfortunately, none of the rooms had doors. We felt uncomfortable about leaving our belongings on the beds. They did have a storage room available. The continental breakfast was a nightmare. It's included in your fee, and you can have as much as you want. However, the room is small, and the queues are long. Myself and one other did manage to see Christ Church Cathedral. We went when the chorus was singing, and combined with the architecture, the effect was stellar. It's just so intricately designed! One of the coolest things we saw was a mummified cat and mouse. A cat chased a mouse into an organ, where they both became trapped. After a while, their remains were mummified. If you ever wanted to know what Tom and Jerry will look like in the afterlife, well, this is the place to go. THE LAST DAY The other architectural marvel we saw was St. Patrick's Cathedral. We went on Sunday, right before the services began. The two churches are a must-see. They're both amazing in their splendor, and they were designed using very different styles. Afterwards, it was off to the airport! I had IR£15 left, so I decided to do some shopping at the duty-free shop. A good thing too. The Guinness shirt I bought was much cheaper at the airport than it was at the brewery. I also got a "party set," which includes two glasses, a towel, coasters and a deck of cards. Dublin was neat. If you do go though, don't spend all of your time in the city. Check out the countryside (for one thing, prices are much cheaper). The drinks there are also much more expensive than in the states. Expect to pay around IR£2-IR£4 for a drink, even if it's just a beer. Still, the scenery and the architecture there are well worth the high price (although 21% VAT? I mean, geez guys, unless the products are bronzed, guaranteed for life and come with a free car, 21% is overkill)