Having A Wales Of A Time

I had the best uninterrupted sleep for ten hours straight in the Welsh countryside.

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So I woke the next morning and noticed that the flock of sheep was still lustfully staring at me through the bedroom window. They must have been staring at me all night long, while I was asleep. Wonder what is it about me that they are so interested.

I may be as hairy as they are, but hey, can’t they see I’m not their kind?

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This is Nigel’s humble little abode and where I stayed during my two days in Conwy. Nigel works from home and in his spare time, runs his online business selling aromatherapy products at naturalbeautyandhealth.co.uk

It may not look like much from the outside, but Nigel is renovating the building all by himself. Seems like in the West, it is common practice for the man of the family to do up his house with his own hands.

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It’s different here in Malaysia where we can just pay some migrant workers peanuts to do the dirty job for us.

After breakfast, I hopped into Nigel’s car, ready to see what Conwy has to offer!

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The entire North Wales is dotted with castles, and Conwy is a historic town very much like Malacca.

Unlike Malacca, the historical site in Conwy is not just one tiny gate. The star attraction here is the imposing Conwy Castle located right smack in the middle of a living, breathing town. It’s close to 800 years old and still extremely well-preserved.

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It was unlike anything I’ve encountered before in my extensive travels. I could not resist the opportunity to climb up the highest turret of the castle and indulged in my fantasy pretending to be a knight in shining armour.

Except my “shining armour” is not an armour, but the extra 20kg of fat around my waist.

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One thing I can’t deny is that the views from up the castle is breathtakingly awesome. I like how Conwy is small enough to be surrounded by the 800-year-old castle wall, because it lends the town a very medieval feel.

The funny thing is, I LIKE that medieval feel.

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Maybe it’s the countless Warcraft and Age of Empires games I’ve been playing, but I felt extremely comfortable walking on top the castle in a medieval town. As if I really belonged here.

Either that, or I’m just a big giant nerd.

Please don’t give me The Wedgie.

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We left Conwy shortly afterwards to explore the surrounding places. Being a local, Nigel knows all the hidden gems and brought me to all the places off the beaten track.

Like this giant rock erected in the middle of nowhere.

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It doesn’t look like much at all on first glance, but I was told that this is a “Standing Stone”. Apparently, this big stone that was once worshipped by The Druids 4,000 years ago.

The Druids? I thought they only existed in computer games.

Or in World Wrestling Entertainment together with The Undertaker.

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This is another 4,000-year-old prehistoric stone structure built by The Druids which functions as a burial chamber. Instead of wasting land and burying people in individual tombs, The Druids used to just chuck dead bodies into this hole, hundreds at a time until it’s full.

Nowadays it functions as an excellent bomb shelter in case of World War III.

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The Welsh landscape reminds me of something straight out of the Lord of the Rings. Even in late winter, when all the plants are dead, it still looks quite amazing.

One thing I noticed about Wales is how much stone walls they have.

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There are miles and miles of stone walls here, all built by hand. At first I thought the walls are there to separate the sheep, but then I don’t know why they need it to be made of stone?

Then I thought, presumably it’s to defend the Humans against the Orcs.

Like in Warcraft III. Damn those green-skinned Orcs!

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Another thing that impressed me is how beautiful the cemeteries in Wales are.

It’s very different from the ones we have in Malaysia. Our graveyards are so spooky they are used for horror movies.

In Wales, all their dearly departed are buried in some amazingly serene location, either atop a hill or right next to the sea.

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This is like the ultimate luxury, the 5-star hotel version of a resting place.

It’s actually very calming just to chill out and sit around here. You don’t even realised you’re being surrounded by hundreds of dead bodies.

Until someone tap you on the shoulder and you turn around and realise no one was there.

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This is one of my favourite pictures taken in Wales, of 15th century tea house by the bridge.

I thought the house looks very pretty and romantic. Until I was told the name of the house is something ridiculous-sounding like Tu Hwnt i’r Bont.

That’s like having a cute girl at the club wink at you, then coming up to you and say “Hi! My name is Kitty Ba Na Na.

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Nigel had to return home early to prepare dinner. But the sun was still up and I wasn’t ready to call it a day yet. Without any destination in mind, I decided to set out on my own and wander around the area.

The walk I had in Conwy Valley was easily one of the most memorable ones I had ever done.

 

Being late winter, the tourists had not invaded while the locals prefer to stay at home. With the streets and parks deserted, I virtually had the whole great outdoors to myself.

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I walked aimlessly until I arrived at a quaint old gate. There’s an arrow on it saying “Walking Path” so I continued walking, until I eventually heard sounds of water flowing.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the site of the most picturesque river streams I had ever seen.

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Amazing.

I don’t even know my way around and I managed to stumble across such a breath-taking sight so easily.

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The best part is, there was absolutely no one else around but myself.

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I was just sitting there, soaking up the calmness and serenity of the place, thinking this is exactly what I was looking for when I travel – a chance to really relax my mind and free myself from all the stress I have back home.

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I love it. If this were in China, they would’ve made hordes of noisy tourists descend upon it already.

I honestly did not want to leave.

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Alas, it was getting dark. If I were to linger around any longer I surely would not be able to find my way back.

I arrived back at my host’s house in time for dinner. My jaw dropped looking at what was laid out on the dining table.

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Roast Welsh lamb, complete with mint sauce, served with mashed potatoes, carrot and leek on the side, drenched lovingly with homemade brown gravy.

Knowing my favourite beer, they even prepared Guinness Draught for me to go with my meal!

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Dessert was the sinfully delicious bread & butter pudding, another traditional Welsh recipe. There were so much good food and the portions were so huge I had trouble finishing them.

It was Welsh hospitality at its best. I was truly very pampered by Nigel and Diane.

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I actually felt quite sad having to leave Wales. It is such a magical place. Everything is so breathtakingly beautiful that I find it very difficult to leave.

As I prepared myself for bed, I looked out the window and saw a familiar face staring back at me.

 

It’s those damn sheep again.

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And this time, HE’S HORNY.

So I read this news about a man who died after masturbating himself with a Coke bottle.

I don’t know which is more sad. Getting caught with his pants down and dick stuck in the Coke bottle, or the fact that his dick is actually small enough to go through a Coke bottle.

110 Replies to “Having A Wales Of A Time”

  1. simply beautiful.. shows there’s so much untouched beauty in this world which we urbanittes need to go see and experience!!

  2. It isn’t just Wales that have such scenery. The country side around the entire UK looked similar.
    By the way, the people around the UK DIY a lot. My e.landlord fixed the 1st floor bathroom that went through the floor himself.

  3. Those pictures of the stream were simply breath-taking.
    Kenny, could I ask what kind of model is your camera? The quality that it produce is really good.

  4. I am glad that you enjoy Wales so much! Yes and people here are extremely friendly. That makes me don’r wanna go back to KL and wanna stay here too.
    The good conservation of environment is in place, friendly and mostly cultured people etc… Man, Brits are lucky!

  5. by the way, the link that you gave was wrong, it should read “www.naturalbeautyandhealth.co.uk” I guess?

  6. oh my, that’s the most breath-taking scenic view I’d ever seen. Now you make me wanna fly to wales this summer but I bet that the air-ticket would be 2 times the normal price. its so gorgeous and i just love nature.
    the stream and the waterfall looks so unreal…. like those in the postcards. i think i’m gonna start saving now for my own trip to wales.
    the cemetry in northern ireland is also as high-class as those in wales too. ^__^

  7. Kenny, was the stream really blue? I’ve never seen a stream that is more blue than this!! Love the pics.
    I enjoy walks alone in a safe country. What more when there are beautiful sceneries to explore?
    I wish i could be there too! But if i was there, i’d probably have fallen in love with u…haha…coz it’s soooo romantic there.

  8. the river stream looks like it has mist? Really beautiful pictures and it does make enid blyton books come alive!

  9. That’s some nastily nice pictures you took! What slr do you use? and that pic of the stream that is flowish… what aperture n shutter speed did you use?
    I LOVE YOUR PICTURES!!! So nice for wallpapers la!

  10. Bless~ Kenny u r damn funny, next time if you come to London again sound us theres a bunch of us here who can take u out lol. Well maybe u dont need tour guides coz u hv this talent in stumbling across great places init lol 🙂

  11. Now I know where my retirement place is going to be. Then I can just plop into one of those pretty cemetery or that hole

  12. i notice something … all your photos are in landscape horizontal mode… u never take photos vertically??? or u choose to post just horizontal photo??

  13. hey, is that all from wales? i wanna know more. how bout ur trip in japan? blog bout it too. and damn you, i’m so envy of you. i wanna travel around the world too kenny. u should organize something like going for a vacation at some place that you’re familiar with, with a group of bloggers and with you being the tour guide. hohoho! free tour guide. =D think bout it kenny! =)

  14. love those travel postings.. make ppl like us want to travel very badly.. ur guide are so much better than those on virtualtourist.. haha.. great work!

  15. awesome pics! i actually thought u photoshopped those! but apparently…its 100% au naturel! and to think im going there to study in 5 mths time!! Wheee!!!!

  16. Kenny
    how much do you spend on a trip like that? I’M REALLY INTERESTED TO GO ON ONE TOO! just a rough estimate please?

  17. My flight into Manchester was sponsored (by Mister Potato for the Man Utd vs Liverpool writeup), so I didn’t have to pay for that. From Manchester Airport, the train ride to Conwy costs GBP 26.80 or about RM130. Since I was staying with my host, all I brought was a gift for them and an offer to bring them around Kuching when they come visit. But if you don’t know anyone there, budget around GBP60 – 80 a day per person for food, accommodation and tours.
    Try to go during Spring or Autumn. I went during winter so the landscape were a bit yellow and the trees were bare.

  18. hi kenny, your pictures here are gorgeous, it’s making me itch to head down to Wales at least once in my life!keep posting these great entries & photos 🙂
    on a different note, is it possible to format your archives in such a way that all past entries appear on a page rather than having to click on each individual link? for e.g. if i click on the month of january, all posts from january will be on the page rather than by links.
    sometimes i don’t go online for quite some time and then when i do view your page, it’s so tedious to read your past entries cos of the archived links! i’m sure i’m not the only reader experiencing this!
    hope you’ll take this into consideration. thank you so much!! 🙂

  19. woah. mesmerizing photos!!!:)
    and kenny sia!!
    your testosterone seemed to be attracting a wrong crowd. LOL!!!! look at them!!
    ALL of them were giving you the SAME look. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

  20. It is sad that you dont have the time to travel around Wales enough. I believe you missed Snowdonia which is just south from Conwy. The view is just brilliant and breathtaking.
    p/s:Did you carry the tripod around with u to take a slow shutter shot there..

  21. Kenny is not lucky but he deserves it. You didn’t see kenny mentioning how he treated the guest 3 months ago, he must have done such an impression job to deserve the trip. Now think back, have you?

  22. Wow, lovely photos!
    And nice post, with just the right amount of “asam garam” if you know what I mean…it made me crack up with laughter several times while reading it!

  23. Oh lovely pictures, sceneries and sheeps.. Thanks for introducing me such a nice place Kenny! Simply Breath-taking!! Oh gawd, i love the river streams..
    By any chance if i manage to SAVE money then i think this is the first place i am gonna visit..

  24. I’m really really really really curious to know what Welsh sounds like. It sounds so funny in my head when I try to read out the Welsh words in your pictures. How *do* you pronounce grawnfwydydd????????

  25. It is so breath taking-ly beautiful.
    Is it possible to give me the address/direction to that stream?
    I would love to give it a visit when I’m in Wales later this year.

  26. I wanna be buried beside the sea when I was died. Its indeed a 5 star luxury. I love those rivers and waterfall too. Lucky you.

  27. seriously…the water i noticed being BLUE, like copper ion. is that really that blue or the pic being edited?

  28. Knight in charming blubber lor 🙂
    hahahah that sheep never gave you nightmares like in diablo meh?
    hahahahahahaaha

  29. wow, kenny..wales is simply awesome..i have never seen such a beautiful stream in my life..thanks for all the photos..brilliant! one of the places that i would like to visit before i die..;)

  30. Omg, Wales is…-searches for a better word than magnificient- …divine!
    Loved every one of your photos…
    ESPECIALLY THE CEMETERY ONE!!…(it is weird now that i want to be buried there when i die?)
    bet you could sell those photos to those people who sell desktop wallpapers or something, cos i totally want them as my wallpaper!! 😀
    keep blogging! ^^

  31. Everything seems perfect but only the sheep. It’s really somehow disgusting and makes me keep on thinking of the movie ‘Black Sheep’. Shit, this movie is too hilarious.

  32. Well, Kenny, as I said in your other blog about u’r visit to North Wales – you are welcome anytime. But not when it is so cold and there is snow on all the mountains.
    Maybe, I should start a guided tour service for Malaysians ….. Home cooked meals provided lah.
    And, it you are a Malaysian Student craving Nasi Lemak…. I can make that too.
    To hear Welsh spoken – find me in Kuching in mid December or Penang in late December/January …. Tiger beer works best lah.

  33. Wales is indeed a beautiful place. Perhaps you should head to Snowdonia the next time you get to Wales — it really is so beautiful – went up there bofore with my foster parents while in uni there. People are extremely friendly … unlike those in London for eg.
    If there is one place where i would live it is in Wales.

  34. these r reli good~~ r u goin anywhr vacation sometime soon? so can add other stuff aside fr Fitness centre..bluek~

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