Finally, we are travelling to Belfast, Northern Ireland. This country has hold something dear to our hearts, our relatives and friends. My wife has two aunts here, 5 cousins from the two aunts, two cousins whom has also started their own family and from them, we had 2 nieces and 1 nephew. This destination was more like visiting family as well as to take a mid-project rest where we could relax a little more before we embark on the other half of our project's duration. As such, the post on Northern Ireland will not be as the previous postings which was on a day by day basis but rather, based on a single post of the POI that we have visited in this country.
I will cover St. George's Market, Antrim Castle Garden & Clotworth and The Giant Causeway as these are the places that I visited here. I have covered other location in Northern Ireland before including the Coastal Highway, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Carrick-A-Reede hang bridge, Ballycastle and Dark Hedges although I have to say that I have not blogged about them yet.
St. George's Market is a melting pot of merchandise, food and culture. Its like the Pasar Malam in Singapore or Malaysia. There are shops that sells antiques, costume accessories, food, clothings etc. I am only particularly interested in the raw ingredients there namely the meat, seafood, vegetables and fruits. The beef here are really cheap and of good quality. How cheap? 3-4 pieces of ribeyes only cost £10.00. No way, really? Perhaps its £10.00 per Kg? I looked 3 times and at different stalls, it is £10.00 for 3-4 pieces. This is beef lovers paradise! I saw some interesting seafood too such as the Monk Fish and Langoustine. I bought me some 0.5Kg of langoustine and I stir fried it simply with ginger, soy sauce and shaoxing wine. Its delicious! I wanted to get the beef but as we are staying with a relative, we reckon it will not be appropriate to stink up their whole house by my cooking. The corn fed chicken here is also cheap at £5~6.00. All in all, I could say the raw ingredients here are really cheap and it will be a wonderful place to live in especially if you cook on your own.
In addition to the raw ingredients, my wife chanced upon a stall selling cakes and the lady boss was from Amsterdam. Her cakes was the bomb! She scored on the texture, taste and outlook. Price is a little on the high side for locals at £3.50 a slice but to us, it is a bargain! My wife also found an antique clock and an old Alice in Wonderland book. If you are in Belfast, St. George's Market is a must do. Check your visit timing too as they are only open from Friday to Sunday.
On one of the days we are there, Aunt Esther told us that she is going to bring us to this huge garden with a playground. The journey to this location was really long and I was kind of hoping that this place better be good since we have to travel so far. She did not disappoint! She brought us to Antrim Castle Garden and clotworthy House. The drive took us around 25-30 minutes but once you reach there, you will feel that the ride is well worth it. There is a bouncy castle playground when we were there and the kids had a blast. They got to play till their hearts' content because it is a free plaground that includes zip line and rock climbing although the zip line and rock climbing has a snaking queue so we give it a miss. We also walked to a nearby village where there is a small weekend's market. We had 2 hotdogs on the barbie. One for Naaman and one for my wife. The texture a little soft, kind of like spam. Tasted like spam too. Perhaps it is spam repacked into hotdogs. Another must visit if you have kids or simply loved beautiful gardens.
The Giant Causeway! This is our second time to the Unesco site and we are still excited to see the rock formation although I am a little disappointed as I still missed the blue skies on this second visit. We skipped the coastal road and drive in a bee line to our intended location via the M2 highway and it took us a little more than 90 minutes. Pleasurable drive! Before reaching the Giant Causeway, we dropped by an interesting inn by the name of Smugglers Inn. We are hoping to spend a night there but it is the super peak period and room costs double at £120.00 so we give it a miss. Parking at the Giant Causeway is free. Visiting the Giant Causeway is also free! While parking your car, there will be "Traffic marshalls" handing you brochures and informing you about the cost of the visit to the Heritage Museum that includes the parking fee and Giant Causeway entrance. What bollocks, just walk through the tunnel beside the car park or the grass patch that leads to the roof of the Heritage Museum and you will see the Unesco site for free! There is a short walk towards the Giant Causeway and it is pleasurable. You can also take a bus that will cost you £1.00 each way. I suggest to walk first and take the bus when you are coming back IF you feel that walking back is a waste of time.
That's all for Northern Ireland post!
Would like to thank James, Veon and Mia on your generous hospitality to us (James prepared 14Kgs of Langoustine for us! He did not stop there, he also top it with lobsters and a beautiful steak salad) and to bear the inconvenience caused by us, especially the boys.
Thanks Choi Seen and Yi Ling for the wonderful time together over steamboat despite you having severe backpain.
Thanks Aunt Esther for picking us up. Seeing Xi Le, Xi Yue and your smiles upon touching down is really heartwarming despite the cold of Belfast. Thanks Uncle Frank and your family's hospitality to us over dinner, our hearts are blessed.
Thanks Aunt Foong for your love and help with Eden and Naaman. Your carrott cake is still etched in our taste buds. It is scrumptious!
Some photos taken from Belfast are shown below. Next stop, pure emotion Prague!
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