Around The World With Buadhai -- 1977

[buadhai]

1948! As I'm the same vintage as you BH how come you keep trying to insult me by calling me old??

Damn. I call myself old most of the time. But, you had the guts to make it part of your nick!

[buadhai]

After the heart thumping excitement of a month in Devon I decided to tone things down a bit and head up to Scotland. My sister had a Skye Terrier as a kid and I always wanted to see the Isle of Skye. I'd also heard nice things about Edinburgh and I thought skiing might be a good idea as well.


Edinburgh is a beautiful city. (Men in skirts not withstanding.)


Beautiful views.


Very old buildings.


Lots of snow in the Cairngorms, but not much in the way of slopes. OK, so I rented cross-country skis instead.

[Whiteshiva]

Let me get AO and his Asian adventures over and you step up to the plate mate.

What's the problem - think we can't handle more than one thread at a time?

[buadhai]

Question for the Brits: Are there any non-gay bars in Edinburgh? Not that I'm homophobic, but it would have been nice to find some hot chicks.

Instead I met up with this pair. They had a nice little car (ID anyone?) and agreed to let me join them on their driving tour of Scotland:


I'm in the middle (the one with the darker mustache).


We drove by Loch Ness but saw no creatures.


We stayed in this caravan (trailer) on the Isle of Skye. It was cozy and had a great view. That's the women's car.

[buadhai]

Skye is very empty and very beautiful:








I have no idea why this place was empty and abandoned. Perhaps the upkeep got to be too much?

[buadhai]

A lonely little home on Skye.






Halcyon. What a lovely name for a boat. Makes me want to nod off.

Next installment? The real adventure begins. I meet up in Dover with 19 fellow travelers and our home for the next three months, a converted Bedford van. We make a quick dash across Europe and head for Turkey.

[Thetyim]

The car is a Fiat 126

Skye is one of my favourite places.

I used to stay in Glenelg which is very close and a very exciting place to stay because it's the only name place in the world that is a palindrome

[Whiteshiva]

Lots of snow in the Cairngorms, but not much in the way of slopes.

Brits on skis - giggle.....

[Butterfly]

Skye is very empty and very beautiful:


I have no idea why this place was empty and abandoned. Perhaps the upkeep got to be too much?

My dream is to buy an abandonned castle like this one. I hope it's haunted. Scotland seems to be the perfect place for that.

I am sure that Castle has been restored since and is selling for a fortune.

[Thetyim]

My dream is to buy an abandonned castle like this one.

Why don't you build one in Thailand ?

[Butterfly]

^ Poor construction standard and I want the authentic thing

[Old Croc]

Damn, aint you dead yet you stroppy old coffin dodger

The devil and a few reds got in to me. Kill it off DD, I forgot the password anyway.

[Silent Ninja]

Fcuk me. That looks a bit grim. Not much of a nightlife scene then?

But they have some nice women a la Amsterdam standing in the big window (white house next to the church)...

(if you look closely, you can definately see a lot of skin color there. Must be two huge short timers)

[Thetyim]

white house next to the church

Church, what church ??

Do you mean the Market House ?

[buadhai]

After six weeks in England and Scotland I was pretty anxious to move on to Europe. I had booked an overland trip on Exodus Expeditions that was billed as London to Kathmandu in 99 days. I think the cost was about a thousand dollars. I somehow missed the London departure but met up with the Bedford Van and my fellow travelers in Dover. We ferried across the channel and made a bee line across Europe for Turkey.


This was our first campsite near Koln, Germany on the Rhine river. The van is in the background. We were paired up and slept in the blue two-person tents. We carried significant provisions with us and cooked all our own meals. As we traveled East and food became cheaper we'd shop locally and cook whatever we could.


We were packed pretty tightly in the back of the van. There were always clothes and tea towels hanging from the frame for drying. At this point we little expected the hunger, discomfort, illness and excitement that awaited us.


Sidwalk art, Koln, Germany.


The van in a field in the former Yugoslovia.


The countryside in Yugoslavia seemed oddly primitive.


Macedonian high school kids. (Except one is one of my traveling companions. Can you spot her?)


Macedonia

[buadhai]

Highway though central Yugoslavia


Coastal town in Greece. Can anyone identify the cool car at the bottom of the photo?


Fishing nets, Thessaloniki, Greece


Coffee break, Thessaloniki, Greece

Something happened this day that would change my life significantly. Just after this coffee break I was reading the International Herald Tribune. I noticed an article saying that the US had concluded an agreement with the people of the Northern Mariana Islands that would create a commonwealth and would extend US Federal law, including the Social Security laws, to the Mariana Islands. I wrote the Social Security Administration (for whom I had formerly worked) asking them for a job on Saipan in the Mariana Islands. It was a long shot, but two years later I was living and working on Saipan. I would spend the next 26 years and my entire Federal career there.

Next up? We finally get to Asia and explore Istanbul and Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

[William]

Macedonian high school kids. (Except one is one of my traveling companions. Can you spot her?)

That's a "Where are they now" photo if I ever saw one

[Thetyim]

We were paired up and slept in the blue two-person tents.

Thats sounds good.
But looking at the ladies in that truck I think you did better in Scotland, at least you had a threesome there.

[Thetyim]

Can anyone identify the cool car at the bottom of the photo?

Too small to tell but could be a Fiat Topolino

[buadhai]

But looking at the ladies in that truck I think you did better in Scotland, at least you had a threesome there.

Well, remember that just a few months before this my dear wife had dumped me. I was pretty much a misogynist for a time after that and repelled all advances; much to the dismay of the Scotland duo and a few of the ladies on the van. I made up for it with a couple of them later on.

Fortunately, I'm over all that now! (Or, am I?)

[ChiangMai noon]

This is an excellent thread, great pictures.
Looking forward to the Turkish ones.
I spent 3 happy years there.

[buadhai]

Too small to tell but could be a Fiat Topolino

Wow. Another Fiat? Let me see if I have a version I can blow up a bit....

[Thetyim]

I made up for it with a couple of them later on.

Oh Goodie

I can't wait to see those pictures

Can we fast-forward a bit please

[buadhai]

I can't wait to see those pictures

I'm afraid you'd be sorely disappointed....

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

I was born near Chagford. In 1977 I was at school near there.

O, how close our paths came.