I found a 13 quid return bus trip to Cardiff and decided to head off and check out the Welsh Capital city as I had nothing better to do.

Techniquest is an educational charity, established in 1986 and based in Cardiff, Wales. Our mission is to engage people with science and to motivate them to learn more and we also address science-related areas such as maths, engineering and technology. We work extensively with public audiences, and provide a range of services to schools and teachers to complement the formal education provision in Wales. Techniquest has a world-wide reputation for creating excellent programmes and exhibits, and our staff includes leading experts in science communication.

we went to Cardiff, went to the shops, and decided that we should have gone to Millenium Bay instead.  when I get around to that, I will be able to take a picture of the fab sign with a dalek on it, but it wasn't safe whilst I was driving! 

The Angel Hotel was great. There is parking adjacent to the building at a reasonable cost which was nice since Cardiff did not seem to have much parking available otherwise. The hotel room was cheaper then the Holiday Inn it was situated near which was very surprising since the and the staff at the Angel was very nice and accommodating. The hotel is situated directly across the street from the Cardiff Castle. Rooms were average in size but when you're traveling who wants to spend time in their hotel? For us it was perfect because the castle was the focus of our stop in Cardiff and we didn't have plans to see much more in town. We were able to find a nice place for dinner right down the street which makes the Angel Hotel, a perfect place to stay when you're in Cardiff.

The Cardiff Castle is well maintained and accessible. The incredibly knowledgeable and humorous guide made the tour interesting and worthwhile. The castle is actually a summer home which was disappointing to me because I have always viewed castles as the home of kings, and the centerpiece of battles. I expected stories of dames in distress rescued by heroes. Despite the castle not meeting my expectations it was interesting all the same. The cost wasn't bad and the tour is worth attending. Admission includes the tour which is the only way to see the interior of the castle. Farther into the castle courtyard is the dungeon which has stairs to get you high above the city.

We pulled into Cardiff on the 26th as dusk was approaching.  As passenger it was my job to find a hotel for us.  Feverishly I dug thorough the guide book and found hotel number 24.  The actual name was NosDa at the Riverbank.  After parallel parking next to the river we knocked on the door hoping the small hotel situated in the neighborhood wasn't full already.  It was still light outside so we were optimistic. 

An older woman answered the door wearing her nightgown.  I instantly knew this was bad.  We asked her if she had room for us tonight to which she responded angrily, "At this hour!"  It went downhill from there and needless to say, we were turned away.

The next hotel was the Angel.  To me it represented a divine building as I was hungry and tired of being in the car for so long.  We were greeted well and in the room quickly.

Dinner was at a local pub with plans to see the castle in the morning.

The castle was interesting and took up about half the day to see the whole thing.  We took the tour finding it to be very informative.  All in all however the castle was disappointing.  Being American I have the been tainted by the Hollywood version of castles.  Knights, maidens, and boiling oil intrigue me.  This castle was the summer residence of a coal baron.  The history of it really amounted to the history of the owner and visitors, and less about events at the castle. 

From Cardiff our destination became Caernarfon.  A long drive through Wales.

So here I am, just over two weeks before I am due to fly out, AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

First, I'm going to a town/city called Vadodara (aka Baroda) in India to do a hospital placement so I'm praying that I'll get the weekends off to explore the local areas, maybe make it to the beach, to Rajasthan, and some of the other bigger cities.
Singapore is mostly just a short break and a springboard to the rest of SE Asia. Having been there before as a green 18yr old, the plan this time is to really explore the culture and everyday life rather than all the touristy stuff I didn last time. that's not to say that a bit of shopping on Orchard road is out of the question!
Then, into Phnom Penh, Cambodia where the plan is just to mosey on down to Siep Reap via Ankor Wat and the Killing Fields. After reading so many blogs on Travbuddy they seem like the two of the most important parts of the Cambodia heritage, no matter how distressing.
Then over the border to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and heading up the coast to Hanoi. I have no real plans for Vietnam, except to have fun and hopefully stop off at some completely random places.
Lastly, a brief, very very brief stay in Hong Kong before flying home to the UK and the real world with responsibilities and job applications and, shock horror- WORK!!

For me, a little bit of preparation is the key to having a stress-free trip, but my friends would say that I am a planning-fanatic and would also doing anything to avoid doing schoolwork, including organising the playlist to upload onto my phone about 4weeks ago!
With a 20kg limit on my outward and homebound flight packing is gonna have to be a fine art, especially as I need hospital things as well as travelling things.

So here is my list of stuff to do before heading out for any lengthy trip:

• passport- find it, check that it's valid for 6months post proposed return date
• visas- i know you can get them on the border/ in the airport of lots of places, but pathologica need for planning my three visas have all been sorted out :)
  
• money- travellers checks, cash- i'll need US dollars, Indian rupees, Singaporean dollars, Vietnamese dong, HK dollars and some Cambodian money too, but i think as long as I have US dollars to change it'll be ok
• banks- let them know you're going abroad so they don't cancel your card thinking that they have been stolen. if you're British, remember that Nationwide have free withdrawals worldwide, so it's not a bad idea to get a current account with them
  
• good backpack, sleeping bag and pillowcase
• I'm travelling alone and have found that a strategically placed ring on my hand often wards off unwelcome advances!
• tickets and insurance
• immunisations- I didn't get japanese encephalitis because it's £100, and although the 5% risk of schizophrenia is a little amusing, being detained under the Mental Health Act would not be great, especially as I would know lots of the staff there! :S I know those aren't the best reasons but i'm pretty sure the area I'm going to is a low risk place anyway!
  
• travel guide- even if you only use it as a reference it can't hurt to find out about local traditions/holidays and highlights

After a second night in London. I decided to head out west to Cardiff, Wales. Because there's more to the UK than London! The journey was pleasant and took me through some wonderful countryside. I arrived in Cardiff and wandered around a bit. Took in some local sites and a museum. The folks there seemed friendly and helpful. The city had a comfortable feel to it.  And after spot of lunch, I came across a travel office touting the castle at Caerphilly. So I was off.

One of the best hostels I have ever stayed in and I recommend it to anyone who is going to visit Cardiff. First of all the location is really good. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the central bus or train station and the same distance from Cardiff castle (if you’re going megabus) and also for going to the castle. As well it is super close to the main road which has all the bars and clubs so it’s really easy to stumble home lol. The hostel is 24 hours and the security is really good. The main doors are always locked and you have to buzz to get in and they look on the camera first to make sure that it’s not some weirdo trying to get in. The rooms are about 10-12 person dorms but the beds are fairly comfy and you can rent a locker for free (you just need to put a deposit down). Bathrooms and showers are also very clean. Downstairs there is a bar where you can drink all night as well as a huge common area that has the computers, really comfy couches and chairs, tons of movies to watch, a pool table, and games to play etc. There is also a kitchen with all cooking tools so you can cook your own meals and there is even a “free food” shelf which can come in pretty handy if you’re really hungry at 4am in the morning lol. The staff at this hostel are also really amazing. Everyone is so friendly and give plenty of good advice. Owen (the night guy) is super friendly and he drew out where all the good bars were on the map. He even helped us cook our dinner and let us drink our own booze and play pool for free. Also on all the tables there are books with recommendations for Cardiff where people can write their own experiences as well. Oh and there is free toast, coffee, and tea in the morning for breakfast. I had a lot of fun at this hostel and it felt really homey and it was easy to make friends and meet people. Prices were average and I recommend this place to everyone!

It was a brief, but pleasant jaunt to Cardiff Castle sharing a seat on the train with Christine (my age) of Vancouver, Canada.  We passed the subsequent 40-minute train delay together and saw the ferry sailing off as we stepped into the Pembroke station.  The 16:00 ferry from Fishguard Harbor to Rosslare would arrive at 5:00pm, but it would be another hour still before we departed.  Christine had made enchanting company; we laughed a lot in spite of the long delays.  She was a very pretty girl who surely could have worked as a hand model.

Today, I was meant to go to Bath to celebrate my birthday, belatedly, but that didn't happen - two people were ill, two people were househunting, one person had to revise, and one was at a hen party.  And whilst I will do most things on my own, I didn't fancy going to Bath Spa alone.  So I needed to do something else with my day, because otherwise I would have had to sit at home and sulk.  So I sat in Emma's house in Bristol and had a good think. 

Then I remembered that I had never been to Cardiff.  I know I've spent a year in Swindon, and Bristol is only across the water from Cardiff, but I hadn't got around to going yet.  Actually, I'd only ever been to Wales once before and that was the Wye Valley with Most Recent Ex last Easter.  This astonishes most other Brits I know, but if you live in Scotland, you have less reason to go to Wales - Wales is stunningly lovely, full of castles and mystery, and very, very rainy, all of which is also true of the West of Scotland.  But that doesn't mean that I hadn't been really keen to go.  And today I had no excuse not to.

To get to Wales from Bristol you cross one of the two Severn Bridges. They are absolutely stunning pieces of engineering, and I deeply regret the fact that I had to drive across and couldn't look at the view properly.  But they're enormous, beautiful bridges built on the Severn Mudflats.  The challenges of building them to stay put were apparently quite astonishing.  And it's windy there - lanes on the bridges get shut regularly for traffic safety.  One day I will have to find some way of having a proper look.  Geekiness aside, the M4 to Cardiff is also a pretty motorway, through hills, and I drove along cursing the fact that the road was demanding so much of my attention.

I got to Cardiff at about 2.30, and I still hadn't eaten anything, and I was still annoyed about the sheer Charlie-Brown non birthday partiness of the day.  So it took a while for Cardiff to grow on me.  In common with a lot of Britain's best cities, it had been comprehensively flattened over the twentieth century and really isn't that pretty as you drive in.  There are some interesting looking new buildings on the way in, though.  It just looked a bit - well - a bit blah on the way in from the carpark.  Once again, folks, I was happily wrong.

Once you actually get into the centre Cardiff was much better.  The shops are all flagshippy, there are lots of interesting looking places that I might have eaten if I was with someone/not sulking, and then I found a castle, and then I found the museum.  And as you may know, I really struggle to walk past museums.  It was nice - no dinosaurs this time, but a great archeology bit.  Darn, I wish I wasn't such a geek.  By the time I had stopped admiring a particularly nice Pisarro - such a geek! - the parking had almost run out on the car and I had to rush around the viking gold stuff and not go to the castle at all.  Or find the assembly.  And I really wanted to find the Welsh assembly because - ubergeek! - I wanted to see the place where the perception filter comes out of the floor in Torchwood, a rather lame Doctor Who spin off that I actually really like.  So now I will have to go back!

The drive home was genuinely horrible.  The rain had started and I was worried about ice.  Then I started to get eye strain from the oncoming lights and I couldn't really see the road markings.  I actually got scared enough to stop in a service station and get some fried cheese stuff from Burger King, a chain I normally boycott as evil.  But considering that they are evil, they do good cheese stuff and I managed to get myself unspooked enough to get the rest of the way home safely.  So when I go back, I may have to get the train.  Then the eye strain is someone else's problem... :(

Argh! After postponing the trip with Matrilla, the car failed the MOT, burning a little too much fuel to be allowed on the road. The car will now be handed to my trusted expert and Lotus specialist to get the emissions sorted as soon as he has time in his diary. With Matrilla talking of liquidising the Porsche soon, this trip could well be indefinitely delayed. That said, I will be in Saint Tropez this year, even if it means going by rowing boat.

In the mean time I now need to make some other travelling plans...

Scratched the back bumper of the car on the way out from the backpackers so it wasn't a good start to the day.  Was vary wary of doing any more damage as I wasn't really sure what the rental place would do with my £550 excess deposit - had a bad feeling they would take the whole lot, but thankfully it turned out ok.

Took in a guided tour through the main rooms of the castle.  By the end of the tour I had calmed down and was quite enjoying the walk around and hearing about the history and stories of the castle.  At the end of the tour we wandered around the grounds and came across a falconry so checked out the various falcons on display.  After a while the weather started to turn a bit ugly so we decided to call the end to Cardiff and get in the car to Chester.

That could actually mean something in welsh or it could just be jibberish that we made up as the title - but on the way into Cardiff we did see some of the strangest, most unpronouncable names around.

We stayed in a backpackers near the city centre.  Out our window we could see Cardiff Stadium.  We went over to the sister backpackers and used the free wi-fi to book our next part of the holiday - this took quite a while to get sorted and by the time we had it done we couldn't be bothered exploring so we headed back and cooked our dinner.

So Ruby and I are the worst tourists ever. I mean we did the castle and what not on the first day but after that everything pretty much went to shit. Today we had to wake up earlier then we would have liked to given the time we went to bed last night but that's cause we had to check out of the hostel. Ruby was up even later then I was so I let her sleep in and being the nice friend that I am I snuck some toast up to the room for her for breakfast. After we got up and got our stuff together and put it in storage we headed out on the town. To do what?? Well we wern't too sure...we met up with Laura again and we walked in with her...she was going to the castle to do the tour. I think we wanted to do more shopping? Well we went to this one massive store that was having a sale and I managed to find a hand bag and it was only 10 quid whoo hoo. After that we went to some more stores...oh yeah and we went to H&M and we were there for quite some time! I got a dress and a shirt and Ruby got this awesome bright green jacket which was pretty sweet. We walked all the way down queen street and then we went to the Sainsburys so that we could buy some Welsh Cakes so that I wouldn't get murdered once I went back to work. The rule is if you go somewhere you have to bring something back and if you don't....there will be hell to pay! And we each got 15 packs of Quavers...haha don't know why we got so many, well because it was for 1 pound but we felt like idiots for having that many. After that we were starving so we went to pizza hut for lunch. Then we just walked back to the hostel to get our bags. When we got there Owen was still there sitting at the bar chatting to people. It was crazy, he did the night shift before so that means he must have been up for more than 24 hours. We only had about 20 minutes to kill and we said our goodbyes to Owen and then we walked back to the castle to catch the bus back to London. Jake and Nikki (the aussie couple from Friday night) were on the same bus as us so we walked with them. And then we had the 3 hour journey back to London! Ruby was going to study the whole time and if by study you mean sleep then she did just that! Haha. Got back to London around 8:30pm I think?? So our weekend in Wales is over and even though we didn't do THAT much we had a pretty good time and got to see old friends and make new ones!