Edinburgh, Scotland – douchebag passport guy + first time bungee jumping

I know many people say they have bad experiences at US passport control. That’s been my experience the last few times I’ve gone to the UK.

Literally, the guy asked me why I was there (“I’ve never been to Scotland and found a cheap flight”) then asked my plans (“see some castles, walk around the old town”). His response was incredulous: “You said you’ve been dreaming of coming here your whole life and can only name 2 things you want to do.” I calmly said, “No, I said that I’ve never been here before.”

He slammed his fist on the table. “Are you calling me a liar???” I asked him if he’s going to let me in or not, because I wanted to start looking for a flight back. I had to be back at work in a few days. I wasn’t trying to stay there.

Once I was in and got to my hostel, I really enjoyed Edinburgh. There’s some great food in the area, including desserts, so check the awesome things on Happy Cow. I definitely recommend Jackets, the baked potato spot.

I walked up and down the Royal Mile, checked out some shops and historic areas. I saw the Scottish Parliament and funny signs. I saw churches, castles and knights, and had lots of tourists walk into my pictures without so much as a ‘sorry’. The weather was sunny and crisp, just like Fall should be.

I walked myself to exhaustion that first day (a Saturday).

Back at my hostel, a flier caught my eye: bungee jumping. I was in the right spot at the right time, had no one with me to have to convince, and I signed up for it the next day.

I took the train north to the small town of Killiecrankie and met up with the people from Highland Fling. Out of the 5 people signed up, 1 backed out. I figured someone would; it’s statistics.

The jump is from the undercarriage of an old bridge. It’s not that high, and it’s over pretty fast. The hanging/waiting to stop swinging/being pulled up is much longer than the jump, but it was really fun.