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Scotland is one of the four "domicile nations" that make up the United Kingdom. Sharing a 60 mile (96 km) long land border with England to the south, and divided from Northern Ireland by the North Channel of the Irish Sea, Scotland is bordered by the bracing waters of the North Sea to the east, and the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and north. The capital is Edinburgh; the largest city is Glasgow.  Culture: Scotland has wealthy and burly culture, one of which its people are brutally proud. Scotland has a great tradition of festivals, art and literature. It has shaped some of the greatest fictional personalities, actors and writers of the world. Irvine Welsh has made a heavy impact on the international literary scene and the impressive Edinburgh Festival is a hotspot on international arts calendars.

Talk: English and Scots Gaelic are the authorized languages of Scotland. English is the common language spoken by everyone. Dialects vary extremely from region to region, and even between towns! Don't let this scare you, however, as all Scots can speak Standard English. Learn: In the bigger cities you can learn highland dancing. If you're interested in learning how to play the Scottish bagpipe, you should know that it takes about one year to play on an actual bagpipe for the first time. It is actually more difficult than it looks like and needs every day practice! Buy: Scotland offers a range of products; souvenirs and memorabilia occupied genuinely anywhere else in the world. Most visitors are horribly surprised by the high cost of living in Scotland.

Food: Despite the fact that Scotland has suffered from the stereotype for tedious food, things have changed now with various class Indian, French, Italian and Modern Scottish options on offer. In fact, in parts of the country such as Edinburgh, it has become pretty hard to get a really bad meal. Drink: Scotland (especially the highlands) is well-known for the hundreds of brands of Scotch whisky it produces. It seems to the visitor that every village makes its own particular brand, so much so that somebody compared a tour of the highlands as being similar to "driving through a drinks cabinet"! Bars are the places you meet people and where you have a good time. More than in other countries, bars are very lively and it is easy to get to know people when you're traveling alone. The Scottish is very friendly, so it's not unusual that they will buy you a beer even though you just met them. The legal drinking age is 18 years old, and many pubs and clubs will ask for ID of anyone who looks younger than mid-twenties.