razors back

I spent the month of January 2005 in Northern Ireland, it was great. The people are very friendly and the scenery is nice.

if any of you are thinking of going to northern Ireland go from January to June, never go after June. Most of the shit that used to go on over there has died down but July and august are the recreational rioting months. Yes they have full scale riots sometimes lasting a week at a time and you never know where or when they will start. And depending on who's nose is out of joint they return in September and after. Get out of Belfast its a dirty little town that has wildly violent nights. If any of you from northern Ireland object, too bad, its true. You have a level of street violence that would be on par with the united states and that isn't good.

the other thing? Bring lots of money!!! LOL
a cup of coffee is $2 and no refills.
a large americano from Starbuck's is $4
and you don't even want to know what a latte is worth lol
my rule of thumb is if it costs a dollar it costs a pound and for Canada's that means 2 times the price at home

stick to the bed and breakfasts or guest houses they are nice, reasonable, well kept and every one I stayed at was staffed by friendly people. If you look lots of them you can book online so atleast you have a place when you land and then you can make arrangements as you go.

they have excellent public transport and you don't really need to rent a car as long as you are willing to walk occasionally or rent a taxi. One day my fat ass walked 12 miles between towns because I got lost and it was a nice day so I kept walking

one word of warning nothing is open or moves in northern Ireland on Sunday morning. The place is just plain closed till 1pm. Not a restaurant, nothing, well the occasional gas station.

I did quite a bit of walking, I really enjoyed it. Just becareful where you go, especially after dark. Because of what they call the troubles, the 30 year civil war, there are almost no public benches or rest areas as they discourage loitering. If you wind up somewhere you shouldn't be do not bring up religion unless you are damn sure who you are talking to. to Canadians and Americans say something the accent is a dead give away and will give you credit with most people. atleast the ones looking to start troubles with the other side will let you slide because you aren't really the other side. And Canadians you will be accused of being American but a gentle correction will set things straight and you will find almost every body has a cousin in Toronto LOL

anyways that's my take on the place if you have any questions ask away. I am hardly expert but I can give you the benefit of my 2 months of experience