My husband and I will be flying home to KL tomorrow. We’ve been in Scotland for two weeks. As ‘they’ say, ‘All good things must come to an end.’ Why? I’m not sure.

Probably because ‘they’ – the same lot – think, you and I, can’t have too much of a good thing. Because we can’t or don’t know how to handle it. Why not though?  And, it’s the same ‘they’ who probably came up with, ‘Into each life some rain must fall’. Why…? 😊

Anyways, rain did fall on us while we were in various parts of Scotland. Luckily for us we had super-duper waterproof jackets that kept us relatively dry.

Mine has a 15,000mm rating, which meant it should withstand heavy rain and wet conditions for extended periods of time. The feature gave me comfort but I had no intention of traipsing around in the open, fighting the elements, in heavy rain for longer than necessary.

My husband’s raincoat, on the hand, has the highest waterproofing rating at 20,000mm. His waterproof jacket should supposedly withstand prolonged exposure to heavy downpours. We decided not to test the claim or efficacy of the jacket.

My choice, for the slightly lower rating, was solely based on colour. I wanted a pink raincoat. I didn’t want one that had the better, higher 20,000mm rating but was only available in dreary, boring black. I was fully aware that my husband quietly frowned upon my decision.

Yes, I chose looks over function. But, more importantly and for sure, I was decidedly happier in pink, in the cold and rain, than I would have been if I was in that dreary black raincoat😊.

Anyways, apart from some rain, and mostly bone chilling winds, my husband and I enjoyed Scotland.

Our route covered wee parts of Perthshire, Royal Deeside, the Cairngorms, the Northwest Highlands, and the West Coast. From Edinburgh to Pitlochry to Banchory (diversion) to Aviemore to Gairloch in Wester Ross, to the Isle of Skye to Fort William and back to Edinburgh.

Now, back to Aviemore, our second stop. The resort town of Aviemore proved to be interesting long before we arrived there. The detour to Banchory from Pitlochry, yes, to see energetic salmon leaping out of the River Feugh, allowed us to drive across the wonderous expanse of the Cairngorms National Park via the Snow Roads Scenic Route.

We were afforded a continuous, breathtaking backdrop of mountains, glens/valleys, coniferous forests, autumnal plants and trees, lochs/lakes and rivers. Wow. 

The drive from Aviemore to Gairloch in Wester Ross was no less stunning with the must-stop-to-see Corrieshalloc Gorge, a canyon carved by powerful glacial meltwater.

I’ve never heard of Wester Ross before this holiday. This remote and sparsely populated region in the Northwest Highlands was very Scotland-like to me. At least, that was the image I had about the country.

In fact, it was so remote it has ‘one of the lowest population densities in Europe, with just 1.6 people per km², who live mostly in small crofting townships along the coastline of the region.[1]’ The total population is 8000 people in about 5,200 sq. km. Compare that with KL, which has 8,500 people per square km. Hmm.

Then we arrived in the Isle of Skye. If I thought Gairloch was remote, our accommodation on The Misty Isle or The Winged Isle was even more remote. It was a smallish, lone house that reminded me of the Little House on the Prairie, with modern amenities😊. It was quiet with wow views of, what else, but mountains, lochs and open fields.

There were more wows on the Isle of Skye particularly the walk up to the Old Man of Storr and Fairy Pools.

In Fort William, a cutie Highland coo, a train ride, albeit wet and rainy, via the Glenfinnan Viaduct (yes, Harry Porter) and the Caledonian canal walk offered more wows. 

All in all, Scotland is a picturesque country with an enviable landscape that invariably invites a lot of oohs, aahs and wows.

Everywhere we went, we were happily surprised. No matter what we had already seen, we didn’t mind seeing more of the somewhat similar. Yes, more mountains, sweeping glens, Caledonian pine trees, bodies of crystal clear, fast flowing water, more lochs, undulating expanses of green fields, long stretchy roads, and sheep and Highland coos.

And, the people …  they were generally nice. I thought I might need ‘subtitles’ to understand Scottish-English but it wasn’t too bad. I kind of got the gist of what was said. A few times, it went over my head. I know… I’m a fine one to speak with my Malaysian-English. Hmm.

There’s so much to see and do in Scotland. The wee bits that we saw and did, we liked very much. I understand now why my Sinnavan enjoyed visiting Scotland so many times.