SAOIRSE

There were eight of us. Two from China, namely, Huanu (the group called her the beautiful Chinese girl) and Ming (he is also known as Ginger, I guess it was due to an incident that might happened in their trip to the infamous Crown Bar which I'd to pass due to a minor health reason). These two are in the same Master programme as me while the other five are our classmates in Economic Development and Issues for Development Finance classes. The other two guys are Shamel, which is from Syria and Mohamed, which was born in Sudan but currently live in Canada. We're also accompanied by another three attractive ladies, namely, Sarah (she's from France), Karina (from Poland) and Meseret (an Ethiopian who is currently living in Canada).

We flew on BMIbaby, one of the low cost airlines that flying from Manchester International Airport. I was informed by one of my friends, not many airlines fly from this airport because its fees and taxes are relatively expensive than most of other airports outside London. The fare that I paid for this trip was almost 20% more than my previous flights in December. And, I only got to fly to one city as compared to three cities when I flew end of last year.

As for the accommodation, we picked the Paddy's Palace Belfast, a hostel in Lisburn Road that is a two-minute walk from the Queen's University and the Botanic Garden. The eight of us shared a 12'x12' room with four double decker beds and Shamel was on top of me. Mohamed and Meseret claimed that this was their first time ever in a backpacker hostel.

Belfast is not that different from Dublin and is quite similar to Manchester, in terms of the architectural and ambiance. Nevertheless, I find that Irish people, in general, are better looking than the English. The trip also confirmed that they are friendlier too.

Although Belfast might be associated with a considerate acts of terrorism and mistrust (we were told by our tour guide that Belfast has been enjoying peaceful ambiance for almost a year and a half now) due to the conflict between catholic and protestant christians, I really amazed by one of their initiatives to propagate their belief and agenda. That is, by using mural paintings. I personally think it's a smart and effective too. At least, to tourists like me

Oh yeah... we did go to Derry and the magnificient Giant Causeway, which were outside the city of Belfast. And here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.