Hashing in Dublin

Aaaaaaaand away I.... go!
First off, let me say that Dublin is what I would picture Las Vegas being like if it lost all the casinos, neon, strip clubs and everything shut down at 10. Ok, so that seems nothing like Las Vegas, but that's because it's DUBLIN folks, try to follow along. Ha.
So, the hash start was about a kilometer and a half from my hostel and just off the main road down on Grand Canal Square. Not wanting to be late, I started my walk about 20 minutes prior to give me time to find the actual start locale as I didn't know the area. Through luck, discipline and sheer ingenuity, I arrived there before anyone. Oops, better jump in the nearby Fresh Supermarket and get some din-din and something to drink.
Eventually the first hasher showed up, one Louis Copeland. We chatted and mixed about for about 10 minutes or so until others started to arrive, one at a time, over the next 40 minutes or so.
The hares, Chick Maggot and PHD came in, touting tales of obscurity about massive falsies, wind-blown flour and midget fishermen (that last part may or may not be true), before sending our giant group of oh... 8 or 10 on our way.
Trail was marked kinda-sorta well, but the combination of badly colored chalk and flour that was being swept up in the incoming rain made things begin to get iffy rather quickly.
Fortunately, Chick Maggot laid a dead hare trail, so he was more than happy to hang around checks and then point us down the massive false trails once we gave up searching.
Down construction roads, along the River Liffey (sp?) we traversed in front of businesses and dockyards before Polly and I, FRB's that we were, blew past a check that was just poorly placed (?) and scampered along trail backwards, running into the rest of the pack head-on (who said head?) two corners later. We all then jaunted back on trail the proper way crossing a bridge before arriving at the Gate Locks for the Grand Canal.
Navigating these treacherous passageways over the river (not really), we arrived on the wrong side of the tracks, err... canal.

Now, this is what I truly love about hashing. When you're in a new area, you get the opportunity to explore and see what a place truly holds. Areas that there is no chance in hell of you ever going to (whether you want to or not) as a typical tourist.

What I'm saying is we ran through the hood.

Ducking in and out of a large park, we hashed past a massive football (soccer for you Americanos) game with something like 40 people on each side, being played in a cage on Astroturf (TM). Now, how's that for wonky?
Passing these folk, we came to the outskirts of the park and on the fringes of more hood. Polly and myself (still FRB's) took off down a side path between the park fence and an old stone wall, along which several teen toughs (or wannabes?) were hanging out. The girls in one group smoking, the boys in other, shouting at us as we went by various indescretions. None of which were all that clever (what has society come to, if I'm getting called out, at least make it good).
At this point we arrived at another check. However, Polly knew the area well (British man who lived in Dublin the past 18 or so years) and was able to zen us along a trail which was being blown/washed away as we went.
Coming around the last of the canal dockyards (part deux), we saundered past three (count 'em) drunkards holding up a wall before following a quaint footpath that traveled the cape and bordered a rather nice beach. A little further along we arrived at the beer check where the walkers were hanging out and imbibing in Heineken and Strongbow (I seem to have developed a thing for cider...).
As the rest of the runners came in, we hung around for a while and kicked back into gear once the rain (which had settled to a mere misting) started up again.
Back towards central Dublin, the trail took some twists and turns along the grid streets before we went under the lowest bridge in Dublin, then along a path where every single hasher missed a true-trail arrow pointing in kind of an awkward direction until the hare (who was trotting merrily along behind us to yank us in the right direction every time we lost trail) pointed it out with a kind, "You're going in the wrong direction! Follow the arrows!"
This led us under another bridge, where a CCTV camera and a very curious swan enjoyed our impromptu piss stop (hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!) before we traveled on.
It was raining fairly well when we slid into the On-In where we changed to dry clothes, threw on our coats and looked for a dry place to hold circle.
Just when we thought we might just have to get wet, like a beacon of hope, the rain lifted. We moved out by the giant glowing red sticks of Grand Canal Square and broke out the Kilkenney (You bastards!) for circle and down-downs.
On-Afters were at a nearby swank and hip pub called the Blue Lagoon (need verification on that...) where we continued to imbibe for the next 20 minutes or so until close.
STTI talked to me about my travels, found I was headed to Glasgow in a couple days and contacted Oink, who is giving me a hashing hand here in Scotland.
The next night, under the moonlit alley behind my hostel window, I watched a man take a piss, a junkie shoot up and a couple have sex in a recessed doorway (though I must say, the woman got the better part of that deal) all within 10 minutes of each other.
Wednesday morning I hopped my flight to Glasgow, arriving to spend the day listening to bagpipes (there was a festival on) and drinking £2 pints of Guinness (cheapest place found by FAR) before catching a train into Falkirk to meet my fellow hashers Oink and Mimi.

Double bonuses:
I have a UK number now with a pay-as-you-go SIM.
UK has by far more kick ass phones than US, and they GIVE YOU stuff when you sign up. I'm talking Laptops, PS3's, Wii's, Football club jerseys. I'm halfway thinking I should just get a new phone out here and swap in the SIM.
Got in contact with Emu from the Edinburgh and TNT hashes.
Spent the evening getting pissed (drunk) with Oink and Mimi on a nasty combination of very good beer, very good wine and fine scotch. I recalled how I ended up Alcoholiday and will probably leave the wine out tonight.
Slept in a real bed.
Scottish breakfasts are splendid.
Picked up a slight cough in Ireland, hope to be rid of it by Edinburgh's hash this weekend. Don't feel sick, so it's probably a wear-down cough from the rapid fire tour from London to Dublin to Scotland.