Hidden thoughts and interests

War related thoughts
It's a bit too late to make these comments now, but there's been a couple of thoughts which have bothered me about the whole war thing since the beginning.

First of all, whatever happened to Afghanistan? Back in the day when that war hadn't quite started yet, the officials were all saying how much they care about the Afghanistan people, how much they want to help, how it's all about freeing these people from an oppressive rule etc etc. The war happened and there were stories of food being dropped for the civilians and whatnot. Supposedly the people of Afghanistan were set free and things got much better over there. When the war in Iraq was looming in the near future and opposition against it was great, why didn't they bring in Afghanistan? Why didn't they show the people of that country, interview them and ask them just how much better their life was now as compared to before? Make big documentaries about the women in Afghanistan, people's better lives and everybody praising America for freeing them. Surely that would have persuaded a lot of protesters that perhaps a similar liberation war in Iraq was justified after all? Perhaps the truth is that nothing has changed in Afghanistan, certainly not for the better and the officials would rather forget all about Afghanistan, because otherwise people will remember Osama bin Laden and that he was never found.

The other thing which has bothered me is that can't these Iraqi people do anything for themselves? If the people had truly wanted to be free, then nothing would have stopped them. All these years the whole population has supposedly feared and despised Saddam and yet have done absolutely nothing about it, except further bolster his ego and spread his propaganda. They have complained about how last time, after the Gulf War, the coalition forces let them down. But ultimately, doesn't the job of liberation and opposition belong to the Iraqi people themselves? I am reminded of East Germany and the general downfall of the socialist countries in Europe around 1989. In Romania the people even went as far as to hunt down their dictator and execute him right then and there along with his wife themselves. And we're talking about countries were dictators, secret police, interrogations, people vanishing in the night and other kinds of atrocities had also gone on for years. Now that many Iraq cities have been freed from oppression by foreign forces, what have most of them done? Turned to looting and destroying their country and again they show Iraqi people demanding that the coalition forces do something about it. I think it's time those people took control of their own lives instead of constantly waiting for things to be arranged for them by others.
Posted 18:04

The Road Trip, 25th to 27th of March

Day 1 - 790 km from Hounslow, London to somewhere near Edinburgh, Scotland

The day begun very early as my roommate returned from her trip at 2am and then decided to start unpacking her suitcase right then and there. When she finally finished at 3am it took me another hour to finally fall asleep again. So I ended up sleeping late and didn't get started until 10.30. I was expecting a 600 km drive of around 8 hours long to the town of Falkirk west of Edinburgh.
Most of the drive was very uneventful. I drove, drove and drove along the major freeways north, seeing nothing much except countless other cars. Sometimes it feels as if my finnish license plate has converted into a 'driving school' sign. No matter what the cost or danger, no matter how much traffic there is to slow them down after me, no matter how fast I am going, some drivers must absolutely get past me. In general I find drivers in England to be more unpredictable than in Finland. People here do not seem to care so much about lanes or about staying on them. Multi-lane roundabouts especially are a bit hectic with cars bolting here and there, jumping over lanes. Another peculiarity over here is that while they may be two lanes going over an intersection, after the intersection there is only one lane. It makes for some interesting situations.
I passed by dozens of manure smelling fields and countless sheep. Further up north there started to be a lot more of those beautiful rolling grass hills that are like a trademark of the English countryside. The hills are decorated with old stone fences, with groups of white dots grazing in each section. Very picturesque.
As I begun to approach Glaslow and Edinburgh the problems began. I have an uncanny ability to always pick the wrong road. I'm never exactly lost. I know that I am on the wrong road, I know that I am going in the wrong direction, but yet when I try to rectify the situation I just end up messing up even more. I miss the exit that I was supposed to take, I take the next one and turn back, except going that way there is no such exit to take. I turn around again, end up in a roundabout and take the wrong exit out. If one of those surveillance devices were installed into my car that would allow others to track its whereabouts, my car could easily become a comedy show on tv.
So I ended up going round and around near Glasglow and Edinburgh. Back and forth, north and south, not quite ever getting where I wanted to. It got dark and I decided to forget about Falkirk. I had no specific instructions to the bed&breakfasts' there and didn't want to end up going round and about in that town as well. I decided to go to one of the roadside Travelodges that I had seen plenty of along the way from London. Of course now I couldn't find one. There wasn't a single one between Glasglow and Edinburgh. I drove through Edinburgh, thinking the hotels there would probably be far too expensive.
I finally found a Travelodge east of the city, except they were all full. The helpful receptionist however called to a nearby b&b and a man from there came to pick me up. I followed his car to... here. I have no idea where I am exactly. I seem to be the only guest. A very, very nice, old house. Just the entrance was worth a 'wow'.
The host asked me where I was coming from and when I replied London his response was 'Much quieter here and friendlier people'. Hmm. I thought all the English people thought the Scots were the rude ones...
I am utterly exhausted. It's weird how much just sitting in a car and driving can be tiring.

Day 2 - 410 km from Inveresk to Inverness

I slept for nearly 10 hours and woke up feeling very refreshed. I was treated to a nice breakfast of porridge and an omelette. I ate everything they brought before me, getting the whole money's worth. That seems to be my motto while travelling...
I found out that the town I was in was called Inveresk, by Musselburgh. Before leaving I visited the local church and walked around the surrounding graveyard for a while. I don't have any morbid fancies, but the gravestones were rather interesting, all very old and with rather detailed descriptions of the people buried there.
Then it was time to head towards Inverness, further up north. After getting past Glasgow I did the entire trip along a narrow twining road that went through absolutely magnificent scenery. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so beautiful I thought my little heart would simply burst. I took picture after picture, but unfortunately none of them do justice to the grandness of the landscapes.
A lot of it reminds me of Lapland (northern Finland) except Scotland has higher, pointier mountains and in place of free roaming reindeer there's sheep instead. I saw a herd of pink sheep today! Really. For some reason all the sheep have a spot of various coloured paint on them, but this group was completely painted. They were quite cute actually.
Didn't see any animals rising out of Loch Ness however, unfortunately.
Finding a place to stay at in Inverness was amazingly easy, for a change. Dozens upon dozens of bed&breakfasts along the main road and I just picked one with the biggest car park. Part of me is a bit paranoid about these places. I keep thinking of that motel in the Psycho movie. I wish I was travelling with somebody, but if I always waited for a willing travelling companion, I'd never go anywhere.
I love the way people talk here, even if I can barely understand a word of it. British english accent (which one of the many one might ask) is still my favourite, but scottish is certainly a close second. There's a 'Clan FM' radiostation, heh, and of course BBC Scotland and BBC Gaelic radio as well. Amidst all of the pipe music, I've been listening to hours of news and speculation about the war. One of the newspaper headlines I saw today said 'Desert rats killed by friendly fire' referring to two more British men killed by the coalition forces. Rats? Not a very complimentary term to use of ones own troops I would say.
The only regret that I have is that I don't have enough time. Now all I do is spend the day driving in a car, arrive at some accomodation somewhere and fall asleep exhausted. I did manage to walk to the center of Inverness today, only to find a big shopping center there. Deep down all the cities and towns are much the same as the next one. Along the way I saw something funny though... A big plaque on a building saying 'John Harrigan & Sons Funeral Parlour' and pointing to the back of the building another sign with an arrow and text 'Deliveries'. Heh heh.
There are a lot of very beautiful villages here, but the nature is what I came to see this time. I'd really love to see the western isles (outer hebrides) and drive all the way to the northest point of Scotland, but tomorrow I'll need to head back towards the south.

Day 3 - 1100 km from Inverness to London

Another well spent night. Went to breakfast at 8 where I got into talking with the host and another guest. Being the Finnish person that I am, I didn't quite know what to say though. Small talk really isn't one of my expertise. I must say though that all the Scots that I met, were very friendly. I wouldn't mind living in Scotland for a while either. Such a beautiful country too. It's funny though how everything is so centered on Scottish things. Instead of the 'traditional English breakfast' you get the 'traditional Scottish breakfast', except both meals have the exact same ingredients.
On the road the first news I was hit with was "A mother and a child were found dead in a bed&breakfast in Blackpool". Hmmm.
I did a quick tour of Inverness before taking the road southwards. My plan was to drive southeastish of Edinburgh and stay there for another night. As you might have noticed already, I kind of changed my mind along the road however. I realized how utterly fed up I was with driving. I couldn't bear the thought of a fourth day in a row spent on the road. So I could either continue onwards, get all of the driving done once and for all, save money by sleeping at home instead of in a b&b where I'd get killed, get home on Thursday meaning I could spend all of Friday recuperating or I could have stayed in Scotland for another night. Well, I went for the first choice. Perhaps not one of my smartest ideas, but it's done now.
On the way I began to doubt if I had taken one wrong exit too many at a roundabout as I passed by the towns of Aberdeen, Dundee (Crocodile) and Perth. I had no idea Australia was so closeby to Scotland! I also drove past Cockburnspath (the road less travelled by men), stopped for some gas at Eyemouth (right next to Burnmouth and Low Cocklaw) and went onwards past Brownieside. Strange names galore.
The entire trip took me 12 hours. Frankly, my butt's utterly sore. I don't even want to see my car tomorrow. You may wonder why I don't write more about my daily life. It's because I am prone to do a lot of stupid things, often, and the less the world knows about it, the better. I definately want to return to Scotland one day, but... from London to Inverness and back... in 3 days. Never again.
Posted 16:40