GiffGaff UK Simcard - The best deal for any UK resident

Received an email today telling me that my UK simcard from GiffGaff is going to expire in one month's time. 

Felt a little bit nostalgic. 

This was among the first items I had when I went to Glasgow for my Masters in September 2016. This simcard was part of the welcome giftpack in the hostel at Winton Drive. It is most probably the cheapest (prepaid) simcard in town. Since then, I have been using this simcard every time I travel to the UK and Europe (it can roam in Europe for free). GiffGaff has referral programs, where you get 10 pounds when you get invite your friends to port into GiffGaff. You can also request new simcards and get your friends to use them. I requested no less than 6 new simcards and and received quite a lot of phone credits.  

My last trip to the UK was in February 2020 to attend IET's Annual Dinner, and since then, the world had indeed changed. I still have some credit left in the simcard, so I will just send some best wishes through sms to my UK friends. 

Hopefully, this simcard could head back to where it is from and make calls again. 

Hang in there everyone. The pandemic will end, and let us make the best out of every situation. 

Road trip in Scotland Part 2: Isle of Skye

In Part 1, we drove all the way from Glasgow to Glenshiel, passing-by the Scottish Highlands and discovered the truth behind Loch Ness. Check it out at:

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2021/04/road-trip-in-scotland-part-1-drive-from.html

The main focus of driving north is Isle of Skye, nowadays a major tourist attraction. However, in the past, these island was ruled by the much feared Pictish and Celtics, and the Macleod and Donald clan. Think about the guys in the Mel Gibson's movie Braveheart.  

From Glenshiel, you will first spot Eilean Donan castle (13th Century)

The castle is located in a strategic location - in between 3 lakes. Our target was to reach the town of Portree (King's Port) for lunch. 

Similar to New Zealand, there are more sheeps than humans

Highland cows too

There was no hurry - We stopped where we wanted

Road trip in Scotland Part 1: The drive from Glasgow to Glenshiel

In the summer of 2017, while I was in Glasgow for the year, my family came to town to for a holiday. I suppose that is the perk of someone overseas. 

By default, I was the planner for the 12-day trip, which was pretty easy for someone who has been in Scotland for almost a year. If you look at the map of Scotland, there isn't much to consider what to do. Also, I would advise to visit in warmer months. My friends and I did a road trip up to the highlands during winter of 2016. That epic trip with snow blizzard (which pre-coincide with my 30th birthday) would justify another blog post (after I dig out the photos). 

Scotland is unique and rich in culture. Part of the reason I refrain myself from picking a university in England was to stay in somewhere new to me. 

The Scottish Highlands - Glencoe National Park

In case you are interested to learn more on how to secure a Chevening Scholarship to study your Masters in the UK, check this page out. 

In summary, our family Scotland trip itinerary looked something like:

• Day 0: Family arrive in Glasgow. 
• Day 1: Scottish Highlands road trip to Glenshiel. Staying at Ratagan for 2 nights, visit Loch Ness on the way. 
• Day 2: Day trip to Isle of Skye.
• Day 3: Visiting Glenfinnan and Fort William. Overnight in Kilmun
• Day 4: Drive to the ferry terminal at Dunoon. Take the ferry across the river to Greenock. Drive to Glasgow Airport to catch the 4.30pm flight to Belfast, Northen Ireland. 
• Day 5: Explore Belfast, Titanic Museum. 
• Day 6: Taking the ferry to Glasgow, transit train to Edinburgh.
• Day 7: Edinburgh
• Day 8: Edinburgh
• Day 9: Traveling from Edinburgh to Glasgow
• Day 10: Glasgow
• Day 11: Family leaves Glasgow.

As usual, I would plan trips which starts from the most tedious or furthers location. I placed the road trip at the start, so I was in the best condition to drive. 

~~~

There were 5 of us (younger brother unfortunately couldn't join), so renting a car (for 4 days) was a no brainer. 

I conveniently set the drop off location to be Glasgow Airport. From there, we would fly to Belfast. 

Chose a 1.6L 

What I eventually got was a Nissan Qasqai 1.6 Auto - A perfect SUV for the highlands

The journey from Glasgow Central to Ratagan is around 4 hours non-stop, and 270km. 

Of course, we took our time, and stopped where we pleased

Always take a photo of the mileage of your rented car

Overall, the drive was truly amazing. The roads were in perfect, the sky though at times cloudy, was clear.