Spring In My Step: Step V

Saturday, 6 May 2017

We had to get down to clear the French immigration then got on the bus and get down again after a few minutes to clear the British immigration. The British immigration was very strict; all officers were questioning those at their respective counters thoroughly. I remember once I had to show the football match ticket to the silly immigration lady who asked if I was going to watch Arsenal play in the Champions League. Anyway, this time I cleared within a couple of minutes then returned back to the bus.

As it was already Suboh, I decided to perform prayers first before attempting to sleep.

When I next woke up, we were already in England. The few trips I had before on overnight coaches from continental Europe to London, we had to drive up to the ferry and after the coach had been parked in the parking bay, passengers had to disembark and go up to the ferry decks before returning to the coach just before we arrived in England. This time, we just stayed in the bus throughout. I must have managed to doze off because I had no recollection of the ferry crossing at all. In fact, I was even wondering if we had even crossed the Strait of Dover until I looked out and saw we were on the left side of the road again. Before long, we were driving in Greater London as I could discern from the bus stop signs.

We pulled into London Victoria Coach Station at 04:45, 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. It was cold and I decided I would stay in the station until about 06:30 before leaving. Sleep was elusive so I decided to finish my book.

I left at 06:25 and walked to Victoria Station and took the tube to Marylebone station. I had earlier bought train ticket to Bicester Village for £5.50 each way (to my surprise, a return ticket would cost me more) and I managed to arrive and board the train by 06:55 (despite having to change tubes). The train left on time at 07:05 and I reached Bicester Village at 07:56. Yes, pretty early considering the shops are only open from 09:00 but I had planned to freshen up first. The bathroom was a dream and after freshening up, I went out and asked a man cleaning the car park directions to Bicester Village. He answered me in Indonesian; turned out he’s from Timur Leste and has holds both Timur Leste and Portuguese passports. We chatted for quite a while until the Visitor Centre opened and I left my bags there (complimentary! What a relief not to have to haul my bags along!) before walking to the Village. It was barely 09:00 and the shops were not opened yet although a few opened a few short minutes later. There were already quite a few other shoppers who had the same idea of me of arriving early and some came with huge oversize suitcases too!

Daffodils in May (!) at Bicester Village. I love the landscape there

I walked around and went into a few stores. After a while, I went to find Tesco. There were some roadworks and the Village was also undergoing an expansion (more shops were being built) so I had to cross the road and follow the temporary pedestrian route. I was surprised to find a Tesco Superstore this time and a bit further than before (it wasn’t Tesco Superstore that I went to before which was so much nearer). Turned out that the Tesco I went to earlier (and indeed quite near to the Village) had been demolished to make way for the Village expansion and the Superstore was built as replacement. I bought a set of meal deal (salad, a bottle of juice and a small pack of crisps) then returned to the Village.

I walked around the Village again but nothing much caught my fancy (I did see a Swarovski bracelet but it looked far too big for my wrist). There was a long queue outside Pandora (and a crowd in the store – I’m not into Pandora so I didn’t join in) and inside Cath Kidston. The Saturday crowd began to build and I even sighted and overheard some Malays (someone was commenting on if LV went on sale as she passed by me but I didn’t listen to the rest of her sentence).

I left empty-handed and returned to the Visitor Centre at noon and charged my devices. At 12:45, I went to get my left bags from the reception then went to the bathroom before going to the platform. We reached Marylebone at 13:50 and then I had to navigate the tube and stupid stairs to Goldhawk Road. This is one reason why I dislike taking the tube: the stairs. Sure, there are escalators but there are areas where there are only stairs. I finally reached Goldhawk Road station at 14:30 I think. This was my first time in Shepherd’s Bush. I dropped by Shepherd’s Bush Market before continuing on to Saint Stephen’s Avenue to the Airbnb room which I had paid for the next two nights.

After getting my keys (my host had provided me detailed instruction), I had a shower and hand laundered my clothes. I left after performing prayers and walked to Shepherd’s Bush station, stopping along the way to browse Argos catalogue (sis had asked me to find a cooler bag for her). I then took the train to Island Gardens, changing trains at Bank station, and took the underground tunnel across to Greenwich. The day was overcast but it wasn’t that cold.

I walked up to Greenwich Park and then back down (I even saw a fox! But was too slow to take my camera out to take a photo before it ran away) and then walked along the river before crossing the underground tunnel and taking the trains back to Shepherd’s Bush. I bought fish and chips from a restaurant and had it back at the flat.

London skyline from Greenwich Park

Sunday, 7 May 2017

I woke for morning prayers and went back to bed and woke up again at 08:45! I hurriedly showered and had breakfast and then left to take a bus. It was so convenient there: walk out to Goldhawk Road a few metres away and bus 94 will take you all the way to Piccadilly Circus. The journey took about 45 minutes but I wasn’t in any real hurry. I had forgotten that the shops opened late on Sunday so my waking up late wasn’t a problem; even if I had left earlier, the shops were closed anyway. From Piccadilly Circus, I walked to nearby Chinatown then back to Oxford Street. I had wanted to find some books at any charity shop and decided to walk to Knightsbridge but the charity shop there didn’t have any books so instead I stopped and Harrods for a while before returning to Oxford Street via Mayfair. I took bus 94 back to the flat (and sneaked a peek over a gentleman’s shoulder to find out the footie status). Back at the flat, I repacked my purchases and stuff. Having walked at least 32.1 km today, I stayed in for the rest of the evening. Having finished all the books I brought along for the trip, I was feeling bored with nothing to read – my host or her housemate are not readers at all.

The Spirit of Soho mural

Monday, 8 May 2017

I woke up for prayers and again at 08:00. I left the flat and walked to W12 Shopping Centre to find chocolates and books. Brrr! It felt like 8 February instead of 8 May today, it was sooo cold. I returned after an hour and packed again.

I left the flat after a light meal and walked down to Hammersmith station. It’s the nearest tube station on the Piccadilly line and more importantly, it has step-free access. I’d rather walk than take the stairs with my bags, thank you very much. It took me 20 minutes of struggling but I reached the station and got the lift to the platform just as a train was approaching. Alhamudillah! It took 30 minutes to reach Terminal 4 of Heathrow.

After dropping off my bags, I went to VAT claim office at Level 1 (I was tempted to ask the women ahead of me what their jobs were because their receipts were so long!) and after having had my forms checked, I returned to Level 5 and went through security. There was no immigration check though. I then went to find the prayer room (near to Gate 3).

Our flight was delayed slightly due to the late arrival of the airplane. It was an A380 and it was empty so a few of us changed places and went in front to stretch out). I watched La La Land (I must be one of the minority few who didn’t think much of the movie, I even fast-forwarded it a few times).

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

We landed late in Doha of course (because of the late departure; good thing I had performed prayers) but this time we didn’t have to take the bus to the terminal or undergo the transfer process. We took off on time and I tried to catch some kip.

We landed at KLIA at 15:15 and my bags only appeared at 16:15 and 16:20. I took the 16:40 train to KL Sentral then LRT to Ampang Park and then the bus back to Ampang Point, arriving into the thunderstorm and torrential downpour in Ampang.

So that was my trip. I managed to finish 4 books (should have been more but I ran out of books) and covered eight new UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Alhamdulillah for the rezeki.

~~~~~~~~

Wishing everyone a blessed Ramadan Kareem. May our ibadah be accepted and continue on beyond Ramadan, insyaAllah.

Spring In My Step: Step IV

Friday, 5 May 2017

I exited the terminal building after midnight and sat on a bench. After a while, I moved to join a couple in a restaurant sidewalk. I don’t think I managed to even doze off. Maybe I did for a very short while before I was woken up by a woman who was playing with her smart phone. Shame, if only owning a smart phone makes one smart.

It got progressively colder by the minute and I was soon shivering. I stomped my feet, wrapped myself up in another layer of scarf, dug my hands into my jacket pocket but it still remained cold.

The building finally opened at 04:00 and we rushed inside. I went to use the bathroom to freshen myself up and perform ablutions. I went to have my ticket and passport checked after performing morning prayers before going through security check.

We emerged into the cold Pisa morning to find a very heavy fog but went to board the plane anyway. As luck would have it, I was again assigned to the very last row, row 33 but by the aisle this time. We waited for take-off and when the door closed, I went to use the bathroom and then changed seats to the row in front (all three seats were empty). I must have dozed off for when I got up, the plane was on the runway. I thought we had landed (checked my watch and it showed it had been two hours since we boarded the plane and our flight time was supposed to take less than two hours) but no, we were only just taking off! We were delayed by the thick fog or mist or whatever you call it. Well, at least this delay meant I could catch some kip so I dozed back off to sleep and only woke up as we were about to make our descent.

This was how thick the fog was

We landed at Paris Beauvais Airport after 10:00 and I was attended to by a gruff immigration officer who asked me questions in French. I went eh and probably spoke Italian back to him. He checked with his colleague who confirmed that Malaysians do not need Schengen visa to enter France. Duh, I almost blurted out, aren’t you supposed to know all these? Of the ASEAN countries, only Malaysians, Bruneians and Singaporeans don’t need Schengen visa.

I wasn’t in a hurry and wanted to charge my devices for a bit and also get online so I left the terminal after an hour and walked to the bus stand. However, the few of us who were there were told to wait in the terminal as the next bus would depart in an hour’s time. So I went back to the terminal building and continued charging my devices. I had bought the bus ticket online just before departing for Europe and it gave a small saving compared to buying it from the ticket office (Malaysia is not stated in the list of countries, I had to scroll down until I found it spelt in Arabic. Not sure how Malaysians who can’t read Arabic would be able to buy the bus ticket online). I returned to the bus stand 50 minutes later and we finally boarded the bus at 12:45.

The bus arrived at Porte Maillot after 14:00 and after buying a bottle of water from a supermarket in Palais descongrès de Paris, I headed for the métro station but it was closed. So I studied the map I picked up on the bus and decided to walk to the next station. It took about six minutes to walk to Argentine and knowing how inaccessible and not-travel friendly most of the metro stations are, I decided to walk on. So I walked along Avenue de la Grande Armée to Arc de Triomphe to Avenue des Champs-Élysées until I reached Place de la Concorde. It was a lovely spring day and it was pleasant to walk in that weather. I then turned left to Rue de Rivoli before crossing over to Rue Cambon. All in all, it was a 4-km or a 2.5-mile-walk and took me about 50 minutes. No sweat.

Today was shopping day and I had already set my target on Fauré Le Page Daily Battle and Delage Lulu totes. Rue Cambon is more famous for Chanel flagship store but I have enough Chanel bags and am weaning myself of LV and Chanel. Besides, the Chanel boutique looked to be under renovation. After Fauré Le Page, I went to Rue du Mont Thabor to find Delage but had to return to Fauré Le Page when I couldn’t locate it. The lady who attended to me help to call Delage and told me it was a showroom and I would have to take the elevator to level 3. I spent some time at Delage and finally found a Lulu bag that I wanted. The credit card machine was down though so I had to pay via PayPal. I did state my reservation about using PayPal (the exchange rates are just horrible) and the kind bloke said he would give me a 5% discount to make up for the exchange rate charge (and I still got to claim tax refund too!). After concluding my transaction, I asked him for a favour: to use the bathroom (sure, no problem) and if I could use some space in the reception to perform prayers. He suggested for me to use the showroom instead and after asking twice if he didn’t mind, I thanked him profusely. Wow, I had been expecting a hostile reception from some locals (Islamphobia and indeed this was why I didn’t care to rush to the city centre as I wanted to minimise the time spent downtown) but this kind bloke was so understanding and helpful.

I had to return to Fauré Le Page, yes, again as they had given me the wrong tax refund form (it was issued to a Filipino girl and I only realised it when I was talking to the kind bloke at Delage). While waiting for the right tax refund form printed out, I unpacked my LeSportsac shopping tote and put in the two new totes I just bought (one into another and then both into the LeSportsac). I then folded the paperbags and shoved them into my suitcase. I think the sales assistants were all gaping at me but I was going to bring along those totes in their paperbags. It just wasn’t practical and I would bump into everyone.

I left the store and studied the metro map and decided that instead of taking the metro from Concorde station, I would walk to Madeleine and take line 14 to Bercy. This meant I wouldn’t have to change lines (especially with my bags which have since multiplied...). So I walked up Rue Cambon to Boulevard des Capucines and asked for directions to the station. I was purchasing the ticket and riding the train within minutes.

It was barely 19:00 when I reached Bercy. I exited the station and there were already signs directing the way to Ouibus. I went to check out the bus station before going out to explore the neighbourhood. i returned back to the bus station after purchasing a fish burger from an Algerian (?) restaurant. I sat down and had my early dinner while charging my devices and logging on to social media.

My bus was leaving at 21:00 and I went to queue at 20:30. I was surprised to see a lot of people queuing up to board the bus; turned out the bus would stop en route in Lille and some of them would disembark there. We left just after 21:00 and I dozed off until we reached Lille. The bus stopped for about half an hour in Lille and I took the opportunity to go to the washroom and perform ablutions.

To be continued

Spring In My Step: Step III

Thursday, 4 May 2017

There were many sounds during the night from the Piazza del Campo and other street noises: vehicles and people walking and talking and laughing. Being so close to Piazza del Campo, this was something I expected. I didn’t sleep all that well but it was OK. Either I stay in the centre and put up with the noise or stay outside the centre and end up walking to the centre and bus stations.

Palazzo Pubblico

Torre del Mangia

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia

I went for a brief walk this morning around Piazza del Campo before returning to the apartment for breakfast. Eduard had told me there would be new guests checking in today, early check-in too, and that it would be better if I didn’t leave my bags behind and collect them later as he didn’t want to be responsible if the new guests removed or did anything to them. Also, he needed the keys back so that he could hand them over to the new guests. What this meant is I had to bring all my bags along with me to San Gimignano and back.

I left at 08:05 and headed for via Tozzi. The bus to San Gimignano was already there and I had to bring my bag on board the bus (no storage compartment below the bus). We soon left Siena and took country roads heading deep into the Tuscan countryside. Spring was definitely in the air. The bus stopped at a few towns along the way and picked up quite a few Japanese passengers at Poggibonsi. It took about 75 minutes to reach San Gimignano from Siena.

Now San Gimignano is a walled medieval hill town and I was initially worried if it would be anywhere as hilly as San Marino. There were cobbled streets and yes, there were steep hills too but there are alternative streets you can take. The main artery through the historic centre was not exactly flat but still manageable. The bus stops at Piazzale Montemaggio outside the town walls and you enter and walk along a street lined with shops selling leather products, souvenirs and even truffles. Thursday is market day at Piazza del Duomo, one of the squares in town. I asked some of the traders at the market where the tourist information centre was but when I got there, found it to be closed. Having managed to conserve 14 towers of varying heights (don’t think I saw all of the towers), the town is also known as the Town of Fine Towers. The town is small and you can easily cover it in two hours.

San Gimignano

I took the 11:45 bus back to Siena and arrived via Tozzi about an hour later. I had planned to take a later bus to Pienza and thought if I could find a kebab place near Porta Ovile bus stop (where the bus to Pienza departs from), then maybe I could have a kebab and perform prayers there like I did in Bologna. So from via Tozzi I walked down via Vallerozzi to Porta Ovile. Boy, was I glad I was walking down that steep road and not up! I reached Porta Ovile in less than ten minutes and at first glance couldn’t see any cafés or kebab restaurants around. I looked up and saw the bus to Pienza approaching and made a quick decision to just board the bus. At least it would provide me shelter from the sun. So I got on, hoping there’d be a kebab place in Pienza. I had bought the bus ticket earlier. Oh, one more thing, there are only a few bus 112 services to Pienza from Siena and all start in the afternoon. If you go at 13:12 as I did, you will arrive in Pienza at 14:25 while the bus back to Siena is at 14:41. Obviously, this is too short a time to spend in Pienza so if you’re planning to return to Siena, you need to change buses somewhere.

Pienza is a much smaller town than San Gimignano. There’s a terrace that overlooks Val d’Orcia which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in itself. I walked to the terrace (stumbled upon it by accident) and spent a while admiring and enjoying the view before taking the long route back to town. I walked leisurely through the town area and even then was done before long. I tried finding a halal eatery but couldn’t sight any. After a while, I went out and sat in Piazza Dante Alighieri. I had planned to take the 17:56 bus to Monteroni and from there take the train to Pisa Centrale and I had about a couple of hours to kill.

Looking out to Val d’Orcia

Pienza

The time finally came to say goodbye to Pienza and I reached Monteroni at 18:45. There was another bus behind ours and a lady was gesturing for me to get on the bus, indicating the bus was bound for Siena. Well, I had planned to take the train to Pisa Centrale and I would need to change trains at Siena but I was didn’t know where this bus would stop in Siena. If the bus passed the train station, it would be fine but if it went all the way to Porta Ovile, I would have to walk to the station and I wasn’t keen on that as I wasn’t sure of the terrain (Siena is pretty hilly). So I thought quickly and decided to stick to my plan of just riding the train. I asked directions to the train station and headed there.

Well, I found the miniscule train station alright but it was closed. No one was there at the station or any one of the two platforms and there was no sign of life. I decided I wouldn’t start to panic just yet and went back up to via IV Novembre. Sighting a pharmacy, I went in to ask. Alhamdulillah, one of the girls there could understand a bit of English and after discussing with her colleagues and a pharmacist in store, she advised me to go to a tobacconist further up via IV Novembre. I hurried on (it was a good thing I had a screenshot of the train schedule and knew how much time I had left before the train arrived) and finally found the tobacconist. I told the lady at the counter I wanted to buy a single ticket to Pisa Centrale and showed her my screenshot so that I could travel at the chosen time of 19:36. That done, I paid €11.50, thanked her and hurried back to the station.

The timetable showed that trains to Siena would depart at platform 2 so I hauled my bags down the stairs across to platform 2. Not long before the train was due, I heard an announcement which mentioned binario uno and due. I looked across to platform 1 and saw the screen lighted with the word Siena on it so I hurried back down the stairs with my bags to platform 1. The train was approaching when I got to platform 1 and saw to my dismay that the train continued on to platform 2 so I ran down the stairs again with my bags and rushed to platform 2. Seriously fmfl.

I didn’t know if the train was waiting for me but I somehow made it huffing and puffing and panting. I put my bags down at the first vacant seat I found and rushed to use the bathroom. The train was a regional one with only a few carriages and the bathroom is like the one in KLIA Express. I performed ablutions and performed prayers in the train.

We reached Siena at 19:53. I had to take the 20:18 train to Empoli and change trains again at Empoli for the 21:32 train to Pisa Centrale. As I had more than 20 minutes, I decided to go to the washroom at the shopping mall to freshen up. All that running and huffing!

The train for Empoli left Siena just as dusk was settling so I performed prayers on the train again after a few minutes. At the few stations it stopped at, I noticed the ground was wet – it had rained and stopped in some parts of Tuscany. I did see some dark clouds in the distance while in Pienza earlier. I decided that if it was still raining when we reached Pisa Centrale, I would wait a bit or take the PeopleMover to Pisa Airport.

We arrived at Pisa Centrale at 22:08 and I walked the 1 km to Pisa Airport as the rain had stopped. I sat down and decided to try taking a nap after checking the social media, knowing full well that we’d be asked to vacate the terminal building shortly anyway. It had been such a long tiring day of travelling.

To be continued

Spring In My Step: Step II

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

I woke up early today and left after performing prayers and a light breakfast. I walked quickly to the bus station at 18 Stycznia for my 07:03 bus to Modlin Airport. I arrived at 06:50 and stood there waiting. 07:00 came and went. Then 07: 03. 07:05. 07:07 and still no sign of the bus. I was starting to panic and thought of my options. I had run out of Zlotny and my other option was to hike it to the train station and take the train to Warsaw Central and take a bus to Modlin Airport from Plac Defilad. I was starting to really panic when the bus finally arrived after 07:10. Alhamdulillah! The bus was quite empty but picked up passengers in other towns. Despite the late start, we arrived Modlin Airport at 09:56 (ETA 10:15). I sat down and repacked my toiletries. My larger ziplock bag tore at KL Sentral just before I boarded the bus to KLIA and I filled up my smaller ziplock bag and then placed it in the larger ziplock bag (I usually bring a lot of toiletries and would need about three ziplock bags but alas, each passenger is only allowed one bag). After a light meal and repacking, I went in and Alhamdulillah, cleared security check.

We boarded the plane and as luck would have it, my seat was at the very last row (row 33). I saw that there was a row of three vacant seats at row 32 so I moved up after the door had closed so I could stretch out and also perform prayers.

We landed at Bologna Airport at 14:40 but it took a while before the doors were opened. At the terminal building, I bought an Aerobus ticket for €6 to the train station (I had earlier bought an ordinary bus ticket for €1.30 as I had planned to walk to Birra; unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any pedestrian lane and no one I asked could point me in the right direction so I had to return to the airport and buy the Aerobus ticket). The journey took about 25 minutes.

I went into the station briefly before heading out. Spotting a hotel across the road, I headed for it to ask for directions and a city map. Ever since my bad experience in Madrid years ago, I had found that hotels are the best place to head for to ask for directions or at least get someone who can speak English. I was not disappointed; the kind lady at the reception handed me a map and some general directions and I set off. I walked down the seemingly endless city arcades until I reached Le Due Torri (Two Towers), i.e., Towers of the Asinelli and Garisenda, which are the main symbols of Bologna before walking back towards the train station. I also managed, with the help of another lady at another hotel, to locate the canal of Bologna.

Back at the station, I queued at the ticket office to buy a ticket to Rimini. The chap who attended to me was a jolly friendly man and he told me to take the 17:35 train as it would take me less time and cost me less. I reached Rimini just as it was beginning to get dark and went to find Hotel Alibi (I had booked and paid to stay at another hotel but due to their system error, the other hotel was unable to accommodate me and arranged for me to stay at their another hotel in their group). Unfortunately, there is no underpass at the train station which meant I had to walk the long way to cross the train tracks to get to my hotel which is on the other side of the tracks. I finally found my hotel (got a bit confused with the directions) after 30 minutes. I checked in and went to my room and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

After prayers and showering, I went for a brief early morning walk to the beach. It was an overcast morning and as I walked, it started to drizzle. I walked up to the beach which at that hour was deserted except for a lone jogger. I returned to the hotel shortly after and gathered my things before checking out. Turned out I had to pay €1.50 city tax for every night of stay. The bloke at the reception told me I had to pay this tax at all hotels in Italy.

I left and began the trek back to the train station. It took ten minutes brisk walk to reach the station and I bought ticket for the 11:47 train to Bologna for €9.85 (I could have bought a ticket to Siena – with a train change at Bologna - but this would cost me either €52.10 or €57.10 depending on time of travel. I found it more economical to break the trip: Rimini-Bologna ticket for €9.85 and Bologna-Siena ticket for €36.10. Total cost would be €45.95 compared to €52.10/€57.10! When I first started my research, the total cost was €31.10 from Rimini to Siena *cries*). It would leave me a short time to visit San Marino and although I could have taken a later train, I wanted to reach Siena earlier. Then I walked to the bus stop for the bus to San Marino which is outside Albergo Moderno, a 3-star hotel. The bus arrived at 07:55 and after storing my bag in the bag hold beneath the bus, I went up and paid for my ticket. I didn’t manage to buy a return ticket from the driver (I later found out that I could do that at the Tourist Information Centre. A return ticket costs €9 while a single ticket costs €5) and settled in for the ride. We reached San Marino bus station at 09:10.

 This is what I meant. If I had bought a train ticket from Rimini to Siena, it would cost me either €52.10 to €57.10 depending on time of travel. Ticket price had increased since I first did my research!

I decided to check the Rimini-Bologna and Bologna-Siena ticket prices and they turned out better. I only had to queue at Bologna station to buy the ticket to Siena but still, it gave me some saving

From the coach station, there’s a lift going up – the Old Town of San Marino is very hilly and I had to struggle walking uphill with my bag (no left luggage that I could spot). The republic is made of a few towns with the capital (also called San Marino, like Singapore) high on a mountain top. The day started to clear when I was there and I could see the Adriatic Sea far in the horizon. It was fun walking the narrow winding streets although I could do without the cobbled parts and the steep climb especially when I had to haul my bag behind me! You can appreciate why San Marino has one of the highest life expectancies in the world when people there walk up- and downhill every day and observe a healthy diet.

 Palazzo Pubblico and Piazza della Libertà

Looking down at the town below and the Adriatic Sea in the distance

After a whirlwind tour of the historic centre, I returned to the coach station for the 10:30 bus back to Rimini.

From Rimini, I rode the train to Bologna and queued to buy ticket to Siena. As I had time to kill, I went for a walk around the train station. I found a kebab restaurant and asked if they have a prayer room. Yes, they do have it at the basement and yes, I could use it to perform prayers so I hauled my bag down to the basement. After prayers, I returned to the station and had to go to platform 18 which was a few levels below ground. I was glad I decided to return early to the station as it was quite a bit of a walk to get to the platform. The train was a very comfortable one and we travelled mainly in tunnels under the Apennines for it was dark outside most of the time except when we neared Florence. I had ten minutes to change trains at Firenze Santa Maria Novella and of course the train would have to stop just before the station. We finally pulled into the station and I practically jumped off and ran to the boards to see which platform the train to Siena would depart from. I made it to the train with about 4 minutes to spare...

We pulled into Siena on time and I followed the directions to exit via the shopping mall. A series of escalators connect the train station to the old city; I think the escalators took me up about 4 or 5 storeys and I was so grateful for this because no way could I climb up any hill that high with my bag without help. From the station, I walked to the Airbnb which I had booked – accommodation in Siena is frightfully expensive. The nearer to centre, the more expensive of course but I wanted to stay as close to the centre as possible as I planned to visit San Gimignano and Pienza the next day and the buses depart from different stations in the town centre.

It took me more than thirty minutes to get to my Airbnb at via Cecco Angioleri, mainly because I stopped every now and then either to take photos of the buildings or to consult the map. I enjoyed the map and no one bothered me, no one looked at me strangely and at no time at all did I feel any hostility or being treated like a stranger. I did ask a few locals to determine I was indeed going in the right direction. This is yet another thing why I love Italy and the locals: it’s a beuatiful country and the locals are unfazed at strangers.

I didn’t realise I had to turn off at Piazza Tolomei and went on and when I discovered I had missed my turn-off, I retraced my steps back to the piazza. I finally reached the building and buzzed my host. The apartment is right on top of the building and I huffed and puffed up the stairs with my bags. I got acquainted with Eduard (my host), received some tips, placed my bags in the room and had a quick online connection before leaving to explore the historic centre. Good thing I had performed prayers in Bologna eh. I heard some drum noise while in the apartment and when I looked out the kitchen window, I saw people practising drums for the annual Palio di Siena at the little square below.

The heart of Siena, the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, is literally a couple of minutes’ walk from the Airbnb apartment with the Gothic Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia forming one side of the piazza. Before heading there however, I went to check the bus station at via Tozzi for the bus to San Gimignano the following morning. I walked around the area before asking at a hotel about the buses and was told I could buy the ticket at the ticket office below the street level. So I returned to via Tozzi and searched for stairs to go down. I then bought a return ticket for the bus the next morning and a good thing too for I found from the timetable given to me that the first bus for San Gimignano would leave at 08:20 and not as indicated in the timetable. I then walked along the streets of Siena before heading for Piazza del Campo. I then had a quick visit to the Duomo, a mixed Gothic and Romanesque building, before returning to Piazza del Campo. Dusk was settling then.

After a while, I walked to Pizzeria San Martino at via del Porrione and bought a slice of pizza margherita for dinner. Eduard recommended this pizzeria. It was good but I think the pizza at Pizzeria Spontini in Milan was wayyy better. I then explored some alleys before taking a circuitous route back to the apartment. There was some noise again and when I looked down the kitchen window, I saw some people enacting a play in the square below. This at almost 11 in the evening!!! The Sienese are indeed fiercely proud of their culture and history and take them very seriously.

To be continued

Spring In My Step: Step I

Another spring is here and I decided to spend another short break in Europe. This time, I decided to go to Poland – I’d been to Krakow and Warsaw before and got pickpocketed in Warsaw – so although I was apprehensive about visiting Poland again, I decided to give it another try. Tickets were bought via Expedia after some research (both the fare and travel times were better on Qatar Airways compared to Etihad) and I then set upon my research and booking accommodation. Finally it’s time to go.

Saturday, 29 April 2017

I only realised that the battery for my Tag had to be replaced so I went to my trusted reliable watch shop in downtown KL to do it and got caught in the downpour. No watch shops in KLCC could do it immediately (I’d have to leave it behind for 2-3 weeks, what nonsense!), not even the Tag Heuer boutique (and they charge a whooping RM130 too!). I finally took the bus to the airport at 18:00 and reached KLIA at 19:10. After dropping off my bag, I went to clear immigration and security and only headed to the boarding gate after performing prayers. It’s the same boarding gate as the cancelled one to Iran via Doha back in December but Alhamdulillah this time we took off just slightly later than scheduled.

Sunday, 30 April 2017

We landed in Doha after midnight and had to take a bus to the terminal. The plane door opened late then we had to wait for the bus to fill up. By the time we reached the transfer queue, it was mayhem. I was beginning to panic as I had about an hour only to clear the transfer process and walk to my gate. Boarding process commenced not long after I arrived at the gate.

We landed at Warsaw Chopin Airport at 06:05, 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. After freshening up and picking my bag, I went to find money changers. The rate at the airport was horrible, averaging PLN3.68 for every Euro. There was also a machine that offered rate of PLN3.7 for every Euro so I changed a bit for the bus fare before walking out to the bus stop. It was barely 07:00 and still so cold then. It being a Sunday, the bus 175 to Centrum came only after 15 minutes. I got down and walked towards Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science) before spotting the Tourist Information Centre. I headed there to ask where Plac Defilad is for the buses out of Warsaw. She told me it’s on the other side of the building. I also asked where the nearest money changer is and if it opened on Sunday. Turned out there was one diagonally across the road so I headed there. I had to wait though until the office officially opened at 08:30 even though there was already someone in there. The rate was PLN4.18 for every Euro there.

After changing money, I walked to the open air bus station. While waiting for the Big Bus for Zamość to depart at 09:25, I went to check out the Drama Theatre wing of the gigantic Palace of Culture and Science. To my delight, I spotted washrooms and after asking around, I went to the ticket office. I was not able to buy the bus ticket to Zamość but managed to buy bus ticket from Warsaw to Toruń for the following afternoon and ticket from Toruń to Modlin Airport in two days’ time for PLN35 and PLN45 respectively.

Pałac Kultury i Nauki and Plac Defilad where the bus station is

When I returned to the open air bus station, the Big Bus to Zamość was already there. I went and tried to buy a ticket but when I said I had no reservation, the driver started speaking Polish to me. I asked if he could speak English but he said no. Shortly after though, he appeared with a young man (another passenger) who asked me where I wanted to go so I told him I wanted to go to Zamość and that I did not have any reservation. He said, that was all right, I just needed to pay PLN38 for the bus fare. I asked if that was all and he said yes. Hmm, so why did the driver asked if I had a reservation and acted like I couldn’t get on if I didn’t have it. Oh well. I paid the driver the fare and the young man then asked when my return trip was. He consulted with the driver before telling me I should take the 06:50 bus the next morning. Well, I suppose that was OK too (my plan was to take the 07:25 bus) and boarded the bus. Man, the company may be Big Bus but the vehicle was anything but! It was small and cramped. Like a Russian marshrutka. If I were any taller or had longer legs (sadly, I don’t), it’d be very uncomfortable indeed. It was like sitting in an AirAsia flight. Still, beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

So we settled in and the bus left promptly. I alternately read and dozed off. We stopped half-way at a rest area and I got down gratefully to use the bathroom and stretch my legs. We continued our journey after 20 minutes and pulled into Zamość just before 14:00. It was an overcast day and started to drizzle as I walked to find Hotel Jubilat. At check-in, I asked when breakfast started and when the lady at the reception said 08:00, I asked if the hotel could pack me some food to go as I would be leaving early the following morning. She said that wouldn’t be a problem and I thanked her and added ‘No meat please,’ before heading off to find my room.

After performing prayers, I left and walked to the Stare Miasto, armed with maps and a long brolly which the lady at the reception kindly lent me. The Old City is about 2 km from my hotel. I knew about this when I was looking for accommodation but I’d rather stay near to the bus station (as I planned to leave Zamość first thing in the morning anyway) than lug my bag the 2 km to the city and then back again the following morning. It was a pleasant spring afternoon walk and I reached the seventh bastion of the fortress (the only preserved bastion) which surrounds the Old City after 30 minutes. It started raining when I reached Rynek Wielki (Great Market Square). The tower of the Ratusz (Town Hall) looms over the market square while centuries-old former elite merchant apartments surrounded the market square. There was a stage to the right of the square with a band performing and the music played was very loud. Much too loud for my taste.

I spent about two hours exploring the alleys and streets of the Old City before returning to my hotel. I spent the rest of the evening resting and staying in.

Monday, 1 May 2017

An early morning start. I realised yesterday that I’d have early morning starts for every day of this trip except for the last two days and even then, I still had to get up to perform morning prayers. I left my room at 06:25 and went down to the lobby. There was a different person manning the reception, an elderly matronly looking woman. I asked about the hotel printer and if I could use the hotel computer in the lobby – she said yes – and how much she charged for using the computer and printer. She said no charge and I was so happy and grateful to hear this. I quickly checked in for my RyanAir flight on Friday, 5 May 2017, and printed the boarding pass. See, now RyanAir has reduced the online check-in for basic fare passengers from one week to four days before departure and if I didn’t get to check-in and print my boarding pass then, I would have to find an Internet café somewhere to do that. You can check in more than four days before your flight at a cost of £6.

After printing off my boarding pass, I thanked the kind woman and went to use the bathroom before leaving the hotel with my packed breakfast. The bus came and left on time and we stopped at the same rest area as the day before.

We arrived at Plac Defilad at 10:35, 40 minutes earlier than scheduled. My bus to Toruń was at 12:05 and I didn’t feel like walking to the Historic Centre of Warsaw, having been there before. I did consider crossing over to a shopping centre across the street but I would need to take the underpass and lug my bag up and down the stairs so I decided against it. So instead I walked around Pałac Kultury i Nauki to pass time.

The bus for Toruń arrived and quickly filled up. I was glad I had the foresight to buy the ticket the day before as they had to turn away some people. I was so glad I managed to go to Zamość the day before even though I came without any reservation or ticket purchased prior to the trip. We left Warsaw at 11:59; well, no point in waiting when everyone had already boarded.

We reached Toruń at 16:00. Now, there are two stops in Toruń. The nearest to the Medieval Town is at 18 Stycznia and that’s where I got down. My hotel, Hotel Kopernik, was about a ten-minute walk from the bus station. My room was at the end of the corridor and after Hotel Jubilat, looked somewhat shabby. It’s not en-suite and the two shared bathrooms are near the lift.

I left after performing prayers to explore the Medieval Town. The sun was out, it was May Day and a public holiday so there were many people about. I had a fun time walking around the many monuments of architecture. The city has preserved almost intact its medieval layout and Gothic brick buildings as unlike most other historic cities in Poland, it managed to escape substantial World War II destruction.

The Gothic Town Hall

I returned to the hotel as it was nearing dusk and stayed in for the rest of evening.

To be continued