Ireland - Wicklow

Assembled at the bus station at 11am for a day trip to Wicklow organized by ESN. Wicklow is a big County in the east of Ireland, which is a popular for tourists.

The bus first brought us to the base of The Sugarloaf Mountain. The Mountain is only 500 meters high but the slope leading up to the top is extremely steep. We took around 40 minutes to climb up to the summit and the view from the top was indeed rewarding.

Climbing down, as expected, was even tougher than climbing up. Everyone looked exhausted when we finally reached the base.

The bus brought us to Glendalough in the afternoon. Glendalough is a glacial valley, formally a monastic settlement in the Medieval times.

A simple but fulfilling day trip. Climbing is quite fun and rewarding but not so good for your knees.

Ireland - Cliffs of Moher

Signed up for ISS's Cliffs of Moher day trip. Assemble time was very early in the morning as the cliffs are all the way at the west coast of the country, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Wore 3 layers of clothes but was still freezing on my walk to assembly area. It was a really long ride, and after several short stops and lunch break, we finally arrived at the cliffs at 2pm. The bus driver only gave us until 3:45pm to see the cliffs... WHAT?

Due to ridiculous time constraint, I ended up running from cliffs to cliffs hoping to see the breathtaking cliffs from all angles, and I also intended to sit by the cliff to embrace the wind and peace. Time given was so short that I didn't get to fulfill either task.  For those who are going to Cliffs of Moher, please go on your own.

Ireland - Howth

Decided to do a day trip to Howth on my free day. Howth is a village which forms a large part of the peninsula on the east coast of Ireland, just outside the North of Dublin. Took DART from the nearest train station and arrived at Howth in 40 minutes. The afternoon was perfect, sunny with strong sea breeze.

Walked along the coast a little and began to walk up the track which leads to the summit. The track going up the mountain is along the coast so there is nice scenery along the way. Took me around one and a half hours to reach the summit where I was presented with a great view of the cliffs.

This place is pretty decent for a simple full-day or half-day getaway from the city to experience Ireland's coastal beauty.