Ruins & Rambles

Something hauntingly beautiful about cemeteries!
Just a few mins away from the is the Round Tower: the only remnant of a monastery founded by St Columba/St Colmcille in 512. The monastery supposedly had been wealthy enough to put the town of Swords on the map, which had also later attracted Irish and Viking raiders, resulting in its partial destruction. The story goes that the body of legendary had been brought to the monastery following the on its way to Armagh.
If you are in Swords, we'd suggest you spare a few minutes to immerse yourself in the history and the beauty this place has to offer!!

Traveling with Me, Myself & I

The thing about traveling alone as a woman (maybe it is true for a man too, but I wouldn't know for sure, so I won't speak of it) is you are basically a mini house - you carry with you everything you might need: food, water, pens, books, extra cloths - depending on the type of travel, chargers and power packs, snacks, makeup, scissors, pocket knives - given that it's legal ;), raincoats, cash, and extra cash hidden in a different compartment and the list goes on…It might sound heavy and troublesome, but it is also strangely comforting to know that you got this. Whatever comes up, you can face it or hold on till you figure things out.

And then you need to figure out where you are going…sounds pretty easy but not so much! First, you figure out where you are going and which buses, trains, trams, ships, boats, planes, donkeys, or camels will take you there. And if you are someone like me who is a walking disaster when it comes to navigating with maps, you may want to leave enough time to get lost if you are trying to keep to a schedule. Then you need a Plan B: What if your return journey does not go as planned? Buses break down, and donkeys get sick. Now what? You better have some idea of the places you can stay a night - look for this before you go and not after s**t goes south. That way, if things do go wrong, you will still be sane and safe.

Some countries will have an app for national transport, which is far more reliable and updated than Google maps. You may want to download that. Once I waited 1 hour for a bus in freezing cold for a bus Google promised would show up, but never did, only to check the app to find out all buses on that route were cancelled! How I got home is a story for another day ;)

If you are going somewhere remote or a little off the cities, you drop your location to a friend. That is what live locations are for! No?

I always drop mine to my friend in England, which is as helpful as dropping it off to someone all the way in Japan. My only defense is we are in the same time zone, and I really can't rationalize this further. I admit it is not my brightest idea. But, you see, for some weird reason I feel like she is in the next city.

Finally, there is also the weird thing about no one being around to tell you things like you are walking with your bag half open, you still have a price tag on something new you are wearing, that you have sat on something and now you have a white patch on your black jeans: these are little things we never think about when we travel with someone because they will always tell you. But the moment you are alone, you realize how much you have relied on others for these small but very important little things - this is not to say the people around you are mean or not helpful - I have had many old ladies pointing out, much to my embarrassment, that I’ve been walking around with a price tag - but not everyone would want to tell a stranger that she may have sat on some s**t you know.

This is far from exhaustive, but I'd say it is the basic outline of my experience so far. I am far from a competent, confident traveler, and as you may have figured, many are lessons learned than nuggets of wisdom :P There is much more to this, and maybe I will share them through stories of my many mishaps. Might as well put them to good use and have a laugh.

Till then, Bon Voyage!

By Amanthee Pussepitiya

A day at MoLI (Museum of Literature)

September 22nd Friday (2023) was the Culture night here in Ireland. So many events around the country. You know the best thing? All the National museums were free of charge and were open till late! I have been to a fair share of museums and this was quite an inspiring one.

This little treasure trove is in the center of Dublin City next to the beautiful St. Stephen’s Green Park. As we enter the museum, we see a photomontage of Irish writers and a few quotes from their famous works. There is always one or two that hit you very closely like, “we always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?” (Beckett’s Waiting for Godot) Oh the existential crisis.

As we pass this, we are taken into a multimedia room with quotes flying over us. If we fancy any of the quotes lying around printed in cards, we are free to take any.

If you are a Joyce fan, this is the place to be. From here on we are taken to his world. It has the Copy no 1 of the first edition of Ulysses with an inscription by Joyce to his patron, Harriet Shaw Weaver. The next book case showcases the copies of translations done in 99 languages. If you are a book lover you would know the feel you get when you see the very first edition of a book right?

Picture this now: on June 16th streets of Dublin gets crowded with characters from the book, all in honor of Joyce’s, Ulysses. And guess what? It happens on the very same day those adventures were set in 1904, June 16th! And they’ve dubbed it as “Bloomsday” after Leopold Bloom, the protagonist in the book. This is an event now celebrated around the world.

This place is not all about Joyce, but it takes us on a ride to see a few landmarks of Irish literary history. From Yeats winning the Nobel Prize to young contemporary Irish writers. One point that struck me was the “Report of the Committee on Evil Literature”. As in many cultures, censorship took a hit at the thinkers of the day. The so called themes and content considered “morally, socially, or politically objectionable” by the authorities were censored.

Just wanted to share a few things about a place that recently fascinated me. I love visiting museums because it almost feel as if I am making contact with a few great souls.

-Muditha Dharmasiri-
Ruins & Rambles

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