05.11.2002 | 11:01 a.m.
all about Wales.

We left Friday afternoon. It was supposed to be a 3 1/2 hour bus ride from London to Pembroke Dock, the place in Wales where we were staying. But on account of it being the weekend, there was a lot of traffic and it ended up taking 6 hours! That wasn't so bad though. I had carried my discman and Raise High The Roofbeam,Carpenters which I've read a hundred times before, so it was easy to read on the bus. We reached by about 7:00 by which time everyone was pretty hungry, so everyone decided to just unpack and shower and stuff, and then go to the nearest pub to get food. Now let me tell you something about this town Pembroke Dock. It is ridiculously tiny. We went into the only place we actually saw and Jesus, it was small. The whole group of us - there were 30 of us students, plus the two professors - walked in and it was literally like everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing and stared at us. They were total trash too! Like, all the men were in their mid-50s with tattoos and no teeth from doing too many drugs and lecherous, and all the women were around the same age, wearing really low-necked shirts with push-up bras and chunky gold jewellery. Bwah. Some old man looked at us and said "Ah, feckin' Americans." Anyway, luckily there was a "beer garden" outside, so we all went outside as fast as we could. Strangely, it was a nice night outside. I actually had to take my coat off. All I was wearing underneath was a tiny tshirt and jeans, and still, I wasn't cold at all. That was okay. I don't mind those kind of gatherings where people are just sitting around, having conversations, and drinking and smoking are just things they do while talking. Except....the pub didn't serve any food and so Monica and Josie who hadn't eaten since lunch were pretty drunk pretty quickly. But they were just really giggly. I didn't mind too much though, except I smelled like smoke and that always annoys me.

The next morning, the weather was god awful. It was freezing, and in true Wales style, raining very heavily and the wind was crazy rough. We were going to see a cathedral in another town called Pembroke. Yada yada. I won't get into the details of all of that, but I'll just say it was all really pretty, despite the fact that I got more soaked than I have been in quite a while. Saturday was also the day I witnessed the two most beautiful sights in the world. We went to this place called Stockpole Quay.....it was just....I don't even think I can begin to describe it how beautiful it was. It was like...this ancient chapel on a cliff....I can't really explain it. But we had to climb down these really scary stairs that were REALLY slippery because of the pouring rain...and the stairs went on forever. But it was so worth it. The sea was the most....breathtaking sight I have ever seen. It was REALLY choppy because of the storm-like conditions and we were just standing there on the cliff, in the rain, watching it. It was just so overwhelming. And then later, we hiked up a mountain (yes yes, in the pouring rain. It's a miracle we're all still alive. It was just so slippery!) and stood on top, looking down at the sea. I've never in my entire life seen something so amazing, and I've lived by the sea all my life in Bombay!

Sunday was pretty uneventful. On the bus ride back, I was sitting by myself, listening to the Magnolia soundtrack and the music was making me feel really sad because it reminded me of the movie and...it just gives me this strange feeling of pathos that I can't quite describe. But the roads reminded me of the Bombay-Khandala drive, and all I wanted was to be driving down with Daddy and Mama and Shomi Uncle and Tulu Mashi and Bo and Poo and Bubun Mashi and Chaklu, like all our Alibagh-Khandala trips. And then I was listening to Traveling Wilburys and it made it the feeling worse. I wasn't really looking forward to Bombay in December but now I really really am....

More later. World Cultural History now.

deja vu? | jamais vu?