dublin 02: howth.

I visited Howth next.



It was either Howth or Bray, both of which are fishing villages in the suburb of Dublin. After much thoughts, I decided to go to Howth, particularly due to this post. The place looks nice from the pictures.




Can't say that I am disappointed.




The place can be reached either via bus or train. We decided to take a train today. Checked the price online at it's only 4.50 Euros for a return trip to Howth per person.




So it's great if you are on a budget trip. Payed for the ticket at the counter, to whom I presumed is not an Irish local and I'm moving up towards the train station. The place looks empty during this time.




10 minutes to go before the train arrives.



I decided to look around, and I wanted to buy some drinks from this machine. But unfortunately I haven't got any spare penny.



The train has arrived.




Inside the train, lots of tourists I presume. There were 2 girls speaking German 2 seats next to me and my sister.




The journey took us 20 - 25 minutes, I can't remember. But I'm leaning more towards the latter.



Howth Railway Station. Here we are at last. I do hope the place is as beautiful as the pictures made it up to be.




"What a small town", that was my first thought.



Stopped by a small grocery store to buy some drinks. And skittles.




Every item here is not cheap if you were to convert it to RM, but I suggest to not think about it.



In the end I bought a bottle of mineral water, and to packs of fruit juice, apple fo me and grape for my sister. Took a map of Howth at the counter after asking the receptionist if its free. "Sure, take as much as you want", she replied in a very thick Irish accent.




I struggled at first to read the map, where is west and where is north. But after a while I think the trick is to find a landmark and stick with it. It does help that there are many other tourists nearby so we kind of just followed them from behind.




Howth harbour. The place is a nice contrast from Kuala Besut harbor which I covered many moons ago.




A nearby playground filled with kids.




This old man is taking a walk with his 4 dogs. My sister understandably looks a little frightened when these dogs are running towards us. But they were nice and does not seem to bother at all. Never in my experience here in Ireland have I experienced a dog trying to lick us or touch us much less attack us. So don't be afraid of them - they're nice.




We continued our walk while slowing our pace once in a while to take some pictures.




It is only 10 AM but the the sun is already shining above our head.



But the sea breeze kind of negates the heat from the sun, so the weather is just nice. I brought along with me a thick winter jacket just in case it rains or the temperature drops too much. I checked the forecast earlier and it says that it will be sunny all day, but you can never trust the forecast 100%.




The hill like island in the background is called ________________



Another good look at the harbour. I was told (and also read) that there is an open market here every Sunday.



All the garbages from the sea are collected here in one place so that it's easier to dispose of them. I wish local fishermen here (in Malaysia) are also hygienic like this.





The sun is right above me so I decided to walk around the wall as to shield myself from the sun ray.




Took this very nice view of the suburb while walking slowly along the wall.




Now I understand why the place is chosen to be a filming location of many films throughout the years.





We're now heading up towards the hill.

This is where the view starts to get amazing.




Imagine living in a house like this, with this kind of scenery. Perfection.






These houses must have cost quite a few hundred thousand Euros.




We're approaching hill. The sea breeze was very nice.




Here we are, the hilltop of Howth.






Pictures do not do this place justice.




The view is just breathtaking. As we were walking around, I passed by many whom I assume are locals - many accompanied by their dogs, some with their group of friends jogging and having a walk around the place. I envy them.


 
Let me sidetrack for a moment. Here's the camera bag that I have been using for the last 6 months. Finding the right camera bag for me is harder than I imagined it to be because I want something that is  portable but somehow does not look like a camera bag, if that makes any sense.

So I was browsing around, looking at many videos on youtube and looking on forums, and stumbled upon this website called Storks. 




Needless to say, I fell in love with the company's bag design and without much thought nabbed one immediately. From the picture above you can see 3 compartments, I put my passports, Skittles, maps and drinks on the side compartments and my camera on the middle one. These are all removable by the way, so I can design it anyway that I like.

I'm very satisfied with the product so far.




Back to walking shall we?




Amazing





The sun is right above us now, my place slows down a bit since to be honest I'm getting a little bit tired from all the walking. Not just today, but the day before and the day before that, so the pain just accumulates.

But I toughened it up, can't lose to my little sister can't I?



Now there are four different trails in Howth. The shortest is about 5 km and the longest is 12 km (in my estimation atleast). Each trail will ultimately end up at the train station which we arrived earlier in the day.




I chose the second shortest route aka the Trampline Trail. ????

The other 3 trails involve going around the hills of Howth but not this one. This is the only trail where we will be walking around the neighborhood of Howth. If say you are too tired and you want to go back to the city centre, choose this route, since there are many bus stops around.




I really enjoy looking at the design of houses in this neighbourhood.





It is a nice change of pace. There are many dogs around though. Just keep you cool and everything will be alright.





Since we're the only ones walking this route, we got kind if lost, and there's no one for us to ask for directions.

Thankfully my phone's battery is aplenty, so I opened up my phone, turn on 3G and in rush searched for an app - any apps that can help me find my way. I found one, called EveryTrail, downloaded it and am thankful that it helped me find my way. A very useful app if one were to go hiking but be warned, since it uses GPS the battery will drain faster than you can blink.

Anyway let's continue.




Wow.

From all the houses that we walked by, this is by far the most elegant of all.




I can see the sea. That means we are approaching the harbour.



Left is towards the hill whereas right is where we are headed, the harbour.




Though it is an hour past noon now, there were still many groups of people only now walking towards the hill. There's a lady that I walked past that wore a high heel. I can't imagine walking all these long kilometres with that.





Just some random pictures I took of boats nearby. I always dreamed of going out to the sea to fish. That is a dream that I hope will come true in the near future.




Ever heard of a Michelin starred restaurant? These are the types of restaurant that are widely regarded to be the best among the best. Though of course as with many other things, are disputable.





Howth is famous for its fresh seafood. Locals would say that Fish and Chips are a must here.





But we'll give that a pass sadly. Our budget are very limited.




These folks looks like they are enjoying their lunch very much.




We went back to the train station but my sister somehow lost her train ticket so we had to buy another one. It only costs 2-something Euros though. For the scenery and experience, this place is well worth anyone's time.

So that's the end of this entry. Five more entries to go. I promise I'll speed up my entry.