Stonehenge

Our trip to England got a bit further out when we visited Stonehenge.

This is one of those nearly mythical places that you hear about all your life. But I never expected to ever see it in person.

You have to drive several hours from London to see Stonehenge, or take a bus as we did, to the English county of Wiltshire. But to visit such an enduring icon, the journey is well worth it.

There is no end to the speculation about who built it, why they built it, or how they built it.

Stonehenge has been credited, at one time or another, to the Phoenicians, Celts, Romans, Sumerians, Druids, extraterrestrials, wizards, and all sorts of other paranormal beings. It has been called a solar calendar, a Buddhist shrine, a temple of animal worshipers, or altar where defeated soldiers were sacrificed for blood offerings to heathen gods.

Archeologists continue to argue over which race or culture is responsible for building it, and how old it is.

Not to diminish its mystery, but I don't see the need to create any big cultural or spiritual explanation for why someone would want to build a big circle of stones.

Guys do this stuff all the time. Just hanging out, having reached some tacit group understanding to dig a big hole and half-bury some rocks in it.

Add beer (invented long before Stonehenge) and repeat. And Stonehenge is not the only evidence of group drinking spots in England. There are over 900 stone rings in the British Isles, and scholars say that twice as many may have existed before modern men started knocking them down. Also frequently the result of beer drinking.

I'm guessing building it was a lot more work in the old days. But ancient civilizations built a lot bigger things using only manual labor. It doesn't seem much different than any gathering of able bodied men with access to simple tools, alcohol, and a lot of free time. Well, at least until the "clever" one decides to go all artistic and line up a few rocks with the sunrise and sunset.

Whatever the reason they decided to build it all those thousands of years ago, they certainly captured the imagination of many generations.

And rightfully so. It is a very impressive monument. And it gets even more impressive the closer you approach.

You used to be able to walk right up and touch it, and climb on the rocks. Not anymore. But keeping people out of it makes it a more powerful experience to see up close. It doesn't need any ancient magical powers to be a place of wonder. There is no question that Stonehenge is (and was) a site of great awe and wonder.

We've arrived

Yes, we've arrived.

But first a short recap: We sold our house and our cars. Auctioned away or gave away almost all of our furniture. Downsized our clothing. Packed some bags. And flew to Singapore with one-way tickets and no return date.

Ok, that sounds more dramatic and braver than it really was, because we left with jobs waiting for us in Singapore. And our company moved us. And we didn't downsize so much that we don't have a shipping container on a boat somewhere, scheduled to arrive in Singapore in about 2 more weeks.


We had thes privilege of flying business class. We flew United Airlines, flight 853, to Tokyo-Narita airport, connecting to United 803 to Singapore. Other airlines have direct flights to Singapore, but not on our company's approved list of carriers. I didn't mind taking a connecting flight, because it helps break up the long overseas flight. Its almost eleven hours to Tokyo, and then another six to Singapore.

And, since we flew business class, we also had the pleasure of using the business class lounge in Narita where we could enjoy a perfectly poured beer from the famous Narita beer machine.

Our flight arrived in Singapore just before midnight, but we didn't get our luggage and clear customs until well into the morning. We had six suitcases between the two of us, mostly clothing. That may seem like a lot to travel with, but we don't know when the rest of our stuff will arrive, so we had to bring at least a couple of weeks of clothing.

Our relocation company arranged to have a driver waiting for us at the airport, but they didn't anticipate us having so many suitcases. The driver smiled and called in reinforcements in the form of a mini-van. A short drive later, we arrived at our service hotel, where we have been spending for the last two weeks.