Belfast: Familiar, Yet New

Belfast: Familiar, Yet New

Do you know the phrase “Same same but different”? This is exactly how I felt after coming to Northern Ireland. It is a part of the UK, it looks like part of the UK but somehow feels very different. It is exciting enough to make you feel like you're in a different country, but reassuring enough to know you're in the same one.

Belfast was somewhere I wanted to go a few years back, with a friend. We were so sure that we were gonna do this as a girl trip and discover a new part of the UK together. But we did not. In fact, we did not even make a single plan about it. I guess we just loved the idea of going there, but not as much as we wanted to put any effort into it. They believed they could, but they did not. Oh well. Sometimes in life, you want certain things, but you just don’t want them enough to put in the necessary efforts to make it happen. You just like the idea of those things. Nowadays, when I want to make something happen, I do it. This is how I know back then we did not want it. 

My hotel was at a very strategic location and most tourist places were clustered close to each other. It was easy to walk from one to another in one afternoon, and that is exactly what I did.  And the weather was like in June, but not the England in June. Especially in the botanic garden, some places were over 30 degrees, which made me feel like in Asia. When I was walking around, I played a little game in my head I called “Is this a foreign language or an Irish accent”, lol.

I stayed in a cozy guest house closer to the university. We had a communal kitchen, so I decided to buy some soup and microwavable comfort foods. When I was heating my cheesy cauliflower, I met with a dad who was visiting from Kuwait and was making some dinner for his son who is gonna start university here. Seeing him making a big batch of chicken and rice while talking dearly about his son was so heartwarming. Of course, he immediately offered his food. I loved this about Arabic/Asian people. After chatting with him for a bit, I decided to eat my dinner outside. This is something I really like about traveling, especially solo traveling. You can be anything in a foreign country/place. That evening, I wanted to be a girl who wanted to enjoy her cheesy cauliflower in front of her hotel, looking at the street, standing, in her PJs. A passing old guy commented, “It’s nice to enjoy your dinner outside, innit?” (or something along this line, because you know, Irish accent.) When I was doing my research on traveling to Ireland, I read a comment in one of the blogs that said, “The strangers will come and talk to you”. Indeed, they do.

Then I opened Google Maps and searched for “nearby open coffee shops”. This is also something I quite enjoy doing in a foreign region. I’d like to discover new coffee spots after dinner and have a little hot girl walk. I found one on a 10-minute walk and took a stroll while enjoying the sunset and street art around. After reaching the coffee shop, I realised there were some familiar desserts and pastries and asked the barista if the shop was Turkish. The answer was no, but the Ukrainian barista carried out the conversation in Turkish when I told her I was Turkish. After spending several years abroad, I became that person who gets excited when hearing a foreigner speak Turkish. Just like my Polish Uber driver that morning, who thanked me and said goodbye in Turkish. These little gestures always make my day.   

Belfast is absolutely a gorgeous city with incredibly welcoming people. It is also very picturesque. There is street art everywhere. If you are able to, I highly recommend exploring the city on foot. Choosing a route starting from the University, leading through the city centre, and continuing along the river to the Titanic Museum would be a nice path to follow. Not on the same day, of course. As small as it is, I think Belfast deserves at least two days to properly discover since there are quite several attractions. For example, for Titanic Museum, I’d say, spent at least two hours discovering. The story itself is very tragic and heartbreaking. But that was my best museum experience.

I came to Belfast to give a talk at a conference but managed to do some touristy bits and had some lovely experiences with locals during my 3-day trip. Some of the places I’ve visited are the Ulster Museum, the Botanic Garden, the Palm House, the Tropical Ravine, Queen Belfast University, City Hall, Linen Hall, Belfast Cathedral, River Lagan, the port and last but not least, the Titanic Museum. You’ve been very kind to me Belfast, we will meet again.