The Sweet Escape Tour: Fourth Leg

Tuesday, 3 May 2011
TUN-MXP; MXP-CGN; CGN-FRA
I Want My Money Back
I woke up early this morning as I had decided to attempt another trip to Carthage to find those ruins. It was a comparably smoother journey today (there was still that wait at Place Republique for the train to Tunis Marin). I reached Carthage Presidence station at 8.30 and walked. And walked. And walked. It was a while before I sighted any ruins (damn those books and maps). Finally, I went to find the Antonine Baths and this at least saved my morning. Entrance cost TND10 (which included entrances to other sites which I couldn’t locate).

I left at 10.30 am. Got the 10.45 train out of Carthage Hannibal and was back at the hotel by 11.35 am. I checked out and took a cab to the airport. No way was I going to haul my bag down to Place Republique, buy ticket, haul the bag down up and down those stupid stairs to validate my ticket and wait endlessly for the train to Tunis Marin from where I need to walk to find the bus station for the bus to the airport. No, I still had a lot of Tunis Dinar so I would take the cab.

The cab ride only cost less TND4 - I saw from the metre (the hotel told me it was TND10 and had asked for the money; had I known, I would have just flagged down a cab myself). I checked in - no passengers wanting to share their life story woes with check-in personnel this time - and checked my emails while waiting to board.

The flight took less than two hours. I was seated next to a couple with a wailing child who wouldn’t stop screaming at the top of his young lungs for all the blinking 20 minutes from when we were seated until we were airborne. Seriously, I now know why some parents murder their own children. I was close to committing infanticide myself that day. I knew the toddler was either hungry or tired hence the ultra-noisy tantrums but couldn’t the parents have figured that out?! Thankfully it was all peace and quiet until we landed at Milan Malpensa. Oh and unlike the trip out of BRU, this time they only served us drinks. No meal whatsoever. I want a refund for my ticket!

I had some time kill before my next flight out and wondered around the airport. Again, WiFi is not free. Duh.

I checked in as soon as the check-in counter was open but waited before I went in.

The flight took off on time and we landed at Cologne-Bonn Airport at 9.30 pm. I was not amused to find the upper part of my suitcase wet but thankfully my clothes inside were dry. Spent time in the washroom freshening up.

My 2308 Intercity Express train to Frankfurt Hbf was delayed by two minutes (there was a sign announcing delay). I had bought the ticket online earlier. Oh my, I was so impressed with the train. There were normal seats and there were seats in compartments (like couchettes but I don’t think anyone spread out in them like I would). There was an audio service for which you’d need to purchase headphones. There were also service plugs for you to charge your devices. Fantastic. Brilliantly thought of piece of engineering and design.

Wednesday, 4 May 2011
HHN-OSI; OSI-SJJ
We pulled up at Frankfurt Hbf at 0023 and I spent some time in the freezing cold looking for the stop for my bus out to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport early in the morning. Finally located it after remembering where it was belatedly (I had taken a bus out to Hahn two years prior).

I went back to the station and tried to make myself comfortable. Not easy when the temperature was hovering around the freezing point. At 2.45 am, I left and braved the frigid morning cold to catch the 3 am bus to Hahn (cost €13). We reached the airport about 1.5 hours later. I had ample time at the airport to re-pack my suitcase as it was over the 15-kg allowed by RyanAir.

Our flight out took off on time and I spent most of the time up in the air catching up on my sleep.

We landed at Osijek Airport at almost 10 am. I had no Croatian kuna and there was no money changer at the airport. Thankfully, the taxi mini-van driver accepted Euros. I decided to change only €10 (I recall €1 was around 7 kuna from my last trip). It took a 25-minute ride to the city and we were dropped off at the train station which suited me just fine as I needed to buy a train ticket out anyway. The said train ticket cost me 157 kuna (I used my plastic). Unfortunately, there was no left luggage facility in the train station (outrageous!) so I had no choice but to drag it with me. It was about a 10-minute trolley bag-dragging walk to the centre. The city has some beautiful buildings, among them the Croatian National Theatre, restored after the 1990s Balkan conflict, but now sullied by the McDonald's restaurant at the ground floor. The Co-Cathedral of St.Peter and St.Paul, the tallest church in Croatia, is at the main square and very near to the Tourist Info. I also walked down to the Drava River before checking out the broad tree-lined Europska avenija (European Avenue) on my way to Tvrda.

Tvrda is an 18th century complex of cobbled streets, grandiose buildings and squares. It was built in 1687 when the Hapsburg armies kicked off the Ottoman forces out of Osijek and turned the town into the military nerve centre of eastern Slavonia. At the centre of Tvrda is Trg svetog Trojstva (Holy Trinity Square). I was there briefly and also checked out the Parish Church of St Michael (a former mosque) before moving on. Cobbled streets are bad for my trolley bag!

I took another route back to the train station and waited there for my 1458 train to my next destination. The train arrived at 3 and there were only two carriages. I took the second carriage which was made up of couchettes (the first carriage consisted seats only). I shared a couchette with a Chinese American girl who was travelling from Budapest for work.

We were delayed at the border for more than an hour. As a result, we only arrived at Sarajevo at 10.15 pm, more than an hour behind schedule. I managed to change my remaining kunas at a shop to local Marks for the tram ride.

Tram #1 was already outside and I boarded it (it cost 1.8KM from the driver or 1.6KM if you buy it beforehand but the kiosk from where I could buy it was already closed). I wasn’t sure where to get down and ended up riding back to the station. This time I got the stop right and a couple with kind souls helped walk me to my hotel right in Baščaršija. The reception then led me to the hostel a few metres across the street.

I finally reached my room well after 11 pm. It had been such a long, long day and I was knackered. Three countries and cities in one day!

To be continued

No Reservations

I wish I can say it like Anthony Bourdain: I’m Adek Graffiti, I write, I travel, I eat, and I’m hungry for more. I know I can’t write well though (still trying) but I shall still attempt to write about my recent travels so bear with me.

Thursday, 30 April 2009

I left for KL Sentral at 8.40 pm. Such a humid night and I was beginning to perspire just waiting for a cab. It didn’t help that eve of public holiday traffic was heavy but I reached KL Sentral just in time to catch the 9 pm bus to the airport.

I was already half-asleep when we reached the airport - the result of watching an early morning footie match and was not pleased to discover that the flight was rescheduled to 1 am the next morning. I fell asleep almost immediately and even slept through take-off. I was even too sleepy to get up for the late supper meal opting instead for some juice. It was the first time that I had ever managed to sleep longer than an hour in any long flight.

Friday, May Day 2009

Mainhattan

We landed at a very foggy Frankfurt Airport an hour or so later than originally scheduled and because of the thick fog, the plane had to circle and circle before it could descend and land, and even then the plane taxied on the runway for half an hour before finally reaching the designated gate.

After freshening up, I took the S-Bahn to the city. Thankfully the fog had lifted by then and it was a perfect cloudless spring morning all around. At the Hauptbahnhof, I purchased a city map from the tourist info office and walked down Kaiserstrasse. The streets were quite deserted, it being a public holiday. Now Frankfurt was heavily bombed during the Second World War so the buildings, skyscrapers rather, are all modern, sleek, sophisticated and chic.

I walked to Europäischen Zentralbank (European Central Bank) and Commerzbank before deciding to take a detour and walk along the River Main. I walked until I reached the Eiserner Steg (Iron Bridge), a pedestrian bridge buit way back in 1869. You can get a fantastic view of the Frankfurt skyline here and it is this that gives the city its nickname Mainhattan.

I then made my way to Römerberg where the Römer is. There were some peaceful demonstrations around the area today.

I left the crowd and walked to Paulskirche (St. Paul’s Church), the seat of the first democratically elected parliament in Germany in 1848, and Liebfraunkirsche (Church of Our Lady) then to Kaiserdom (Cathedral) before retracing my steps back to Hauptbahnhof.

There were several stalls in the station and even a food hall (selling all kinds of food from sushi to noodles to Middle Eastern fare to pastries) where you can eat or buy light snacks for your journey.

I caught the 1 pm bus to Frankfurt Hahn Airport for my flight out. The journey took 90 minutes.

My 1640 flight out only took off about 30 minutes later but we managed to land at Madrid airport on time. From the airport, I made my way to the hostel via metro (it was suchhh a long trek to the metro station). Now, Madrid has a very comprehensive metro network with lots of lines crisscrossing and zigzagging each other. It costs 1 Euro for a single journey although if you board it from/to the airport, it costs an extra Euro. The direction to the hostel was very vague and I was huffing and puffing my way around, dragging my luggage behind me. And oh it’s a pretty hilly city too as it sits on a plateau at an average altitude of 650 metres.

The Spanish Inquisition

Saturday, 2 May 2009


Going MAD*

*MAD is the airport code for Madrid

I checked out after breakfast but left my luggage at the reception. Set off to explore the city. Walked to Puerta del Sol (Gateway to the Sun) where the Casa de Corres (Post Office), built in 1768, with its clock, was. Madrileños usher in the New Year to the chimes of this very clock. In the square too is where you can find Madrid’s emblem, el oso y el madroño, or the bear with the madroño tree, and not far from this, the Real Madrid store.

I continued walking along Calle Mayor to Plaza Mayor (Main Square) which takes its name from the start of the 16th Century. I spent some time here before continuing on to Plaza de la Villa (Town Square), Palacio Real (Royal palace), Jardines de Sabatini (Sabatini Gardens), Plaza España and finally Gran Via (one of the main arteries of Madrid).

Gran Via is to Madrid as Oxford Street is to London and Champs de Elysees is to Paris. It was such a hot, hot day, the only difference with KL was that it was not humid.

I continued on to Banco de España, a beautiful building, too beautiful to be a bank in my opinion. Fuente de Cibeles and Palacio de Comunicaciones were just nearby. I turned here and walked on to Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) but no time to visit I’m afraid, passed Fuente de Neptuno (Neptune fountain) and Jardin Botanico (Botanical Gardens) on my way to Madrid Atocha station where I bought a ticket to my next destination. Unfortunately, very few people in Madrid speak English and certainly not those selling train tickets. Bloody idiots, do they expect everyone to know Spanish? Hurried back to the hostel to get my bag and walked back to the station for my train out.

After more than four hours, I finally reached Granada. Though the hostel gave directions, I was not able to find the bus stop and so I walked on boldly until I reached a hotel (I made it a point after that to just stop at hotels where at least one staff can speak English at the minimum). She helpfully directed me to a bus stop where I took a mini-bus all the way to my hostel (there are two types of buses in Granada - the regular bus and the mini-bus).

The room was oh so tiny; in fact I think the Tokyo hotel rooms I stayed in were significantly larger. But hey at least there was a heater (and it was chilly at night in Granada).

Thanks to dear SK and Zara for texting me the footie results.

Sunday, 3 May 2009

Grand Granada

I checked out and again left my luggage behind while I went to explore Alhambra. The entrance to Alhambra was all of 20 metres away from my hostel. Thankfully I had managed to purchase a ticket online a few weeks ago after attempting for days (and hence not have to queue for hours for it).

And Granada was magnificent. There was Alcazaba (Fortress) with its Jardin del Adarve (Garden of Adarve); the Palacio Nazaries (Nasrid Palaces) with its hauntingly beautiful courts, rooms and halls all engraved with Quranic verses along their walls (oh if only the walls could speak); Palacio de Carlos V and Generalife and Palacio Generalife (Palace Generalife).

I can’t find the words to describe or explain the beauty of this place and I walked through it with a mixed feeling of wonder, awe, amazement and some sadness too. It could all have been a different kind of present day but history changed everything. I spent close to six hours at Alhambra alone.

After that, I walked (yes, walked) to Albaicin, an ancient Arab neighbourhood with winding streets and houses dating back to the 14th century which together with the neighbourhood of Sacromonte also form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (as is Alhambra). There was some sort of festival going on with girls from all ages donned a long layered dress with ruffled sleeves. The festivity also meant that there was hardly any bus service and any bus service that operated didn’t run its normal route so I had to walk back to the hostel. And as the bus didn’t go to Calle Via, I had to get down and walk to the train station... where I bought a ticket to my next destination.

I had a good feeling about my next destination, Córdoba, and I was right. I got a bus to the hostel almost immediately after emerging from the station and the hostel was so charming and tastefully decorated too. I ventured out after 10 pm in search of food but was not successful.

Monday, 4 May 2009. Happy birthday to Cesc!


Sweltering Sevilla

I took a bus to the train station and bought a train ticket to Sevilla. I was informed by the helpful ticket person that there are three types of tickets: one costs Euro59, one costs Euro15 and the last costs Euro9. A bus trip would take slightly longer and cost more than Euro10. Bought the Euro9 train ticket.

I walked to the centre of Sevilla from Santa Justa train station. It was another bright, scorching hot day. I walked to Prado de San Sebastian and on to Plaza de España. Then I walked back and passed Universidad de Sevilla (previously Antigua Fabrica de Tabaco or Tobacco Factory of Seville), the beautiful hotel Alonso XIII down Avenida de la Constitucion to Reales Alcazares at Place Contratacion.

I also spent time walking along the winding streets of Barrio Santa Cruz (Jewish Quarter) before going to Catedral y Giralda. Now La Giralda, the large and beautiful minaret tower of the cathedral, was originally intended for the chief mosque. It is now a symbol of Sevilla.

My last stop before walking back to the station was Torre de Oro, a 13th century tower.

Back at Córdoba, I shopped for some groceries and went back to the hostel to deposit them. After prayers, I went out again and took the winding little alley streets to Mezquita Catredral (Mosque Cathedral). After walking around it, I walked to Puerta del Puente and took the Puente Romano (Roman Bridge) across Rio Guadalquivir to Torre de la Calahorra and back again. Then I walked to Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Fortress of Christian Kings). I also passed Banos Califates (Caliphates baths) but it was mainly covered.

Next I walked along the city walls and passed Sinagoga (Synagogue), one of three left in Spain (the other two are in Toledo), before heading back to the hostel.

Tuesday, 5 May 2009

Cool Córdoba/Living On A Prayer

I woke up early today and checked out. Walked to Mezquita Catedral to visit the interior. The ticket costs Euro8 but is free if you visit between 8.30-10 am on certain days. Spent an hour there, again filled with sadness and awe. Headed to the Synagogue to have a look - I didn’t expect it to be so small - then walked to the station to buy ticket back to Madrid and return ticket from Madrid to Toledo.

Hurried back to the hostel to collect my bag. The bus was late, it only came after 1130 and my train was at 1156. I was beginning to panic of course. It reached the station at 1152 and I practically jumped down and ran all the way to the platform. Thankfully the train hadn’t arrived yet. Talk about Living On A Prayer.

At Madrid, I was again involved in another running session. See, I only had 10 minutes to change platforms/trains after arriving and I ran and ran. Again, Living On A Prayer.

The ride to Toledo took half an hour. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite enjoy Toledo because (i) I had to drag my bag with me everywhere (no baggage storage facility that I noticed) and the streets were mainly cobbled not to mention hilly and steep at some places; (ii) it was a hot, hot, hot cross bun day; and (iii) most importantly, my right Crocs button came off. So much for pricey footwear. I’ll stick to my trusted Converse next time, thank you very much.

I had to go to a departmental store back in Madrid to find some strong glue, in the faint hope that it would work. It didn’t and as a result, I had to buy a new pair of footwear. Dang! Give me Converse shoes again, any time, any where. The whole shopping trip cost me time which I could have spent better in Prado Museum (it’s free between 6-8 pm Tuesday-Saturday or something like that).

Navigated the metro system again back to the airport (Terminal 4) for my next flight out. Tried to sleep on the plane but not successful this time. Oh, and thanks to my mates for texting me the result of the disastrous match between Arsenal and ManUre. Silly asses. Grrr...

Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Malteser Time
Landed at Malta Airport at 0125. Yes, an ungodly hour. I was shivering in the night breeze and when someone called out to me, ‘Feeling cold?’, I was a bit startled. Oh, to hear English being spoken again!

Malta Airport was not big and clearly whoever designed it didn’t have backpackers in mind for there was hardly anywhere to rest one’s weary bones and take a kip. Finally managed to doze off after morning prayers. Took bus #8 to Valetta (you have to pay for your bag too on this bus) and changed buses for Sliema, where my hotel was. Now Malta may speak English as one of its languages but its roads and places are predominantly in Maltese so it was a bit tricky trying to locate my hotel. I managed to check in at 10 am and after freshening up, went to explore the vicinity before deciding to take a ferry across the bay to Valletta. All buses go to/from Valletta by the way so if you're going to be here long, it’d be wise to invest in a bus pass.

Valletta is a pretty hilly city (it’s also a UNESCO World Heritage City). Walked to Fort St Elmo (it has limited opening times), the Siege Bell Memorial, and Lower Baracca Gardens for a view of the Grand Harbour and the Fish Market.

Then I walked to Triq Il-Repubblika (Republic Street) to the Grand Master’s Palace and Armory and the National Library. A cute bloke tried twice to entice me to some free Dead Sea cosmetic trial but I declined him as I decided to visit Rabat and Mdina. So I walked to the bus terminus and took a bus to Rabat. From Rabat, I walked the short distance to neighbouring Mdina. Mdina was the capital of Malta at one point and it still has beautiful buildings. I walked in the grounds of Vilhena Palace before going back to Valletta and Sliema.

Thursday, 7 May 2009

I checked out after breakfast and walked around Sliema. Boarded bus to Valletta and then the bus to the airport. My flight out was an Air Malta co-sharing with Emirates so I was served a light meal.

Landed at 1900 local time (GMT + 2 hours). Unfortunately, there was no more bus service to the city at that hour so I had to take a cab to my hotel and was charged a hefty Euro10. Dang! The journey took all of five minutes if not less. After checking in, I walked to Makenzy Beach about 200 metres away and found the bus stop to the airport (for the trip back to the airport).

Friday, 8 May 2009

The Isle of Aphrodite

Checked out after breakfast and walked along the seafront to the city. The Fort of Larnaca marked the beginning of the city perimeter. The Grand Mosque of Larnaca is just opposite the fort. Walked to St Lazarus Church (and me being the curious puss even went to check out his tomb but there was nothing in there. Hmmm). Then I went to the Municipal market and bought some souvenirs. Next stop was the Cyprus Handicraft Service centre then Larnaca Marina before heading back to the city. Passed Picrides Museum and walked on to Larnaca Archaeological Museum (didn’t enter) and Kition Walls (nothing much left).

Back to the hostel and tried to find something to eat but finding none, walked back to the mosque and bought a shawarma from Al Zahra, a halal Lebanese shop. Despite the title of this blog entry, I do have reservations about buying food from a place that has pork kebab on its menu!

I must say that Cypriot men are really friendly, too friendly in fact. I lost count of the number of Adonis who said hello and tried to chat me up/buy me a drink. One even offered me a lift to the airport. And err there were also some middle-aged guys who also tried to chat me up/offer me chocolates/take me to dinner/buy me a drink/offer me a ride on their bikes. One even stopped, slowed down his car and wound down his window to talk to me. My reaction was ‘Oh God, oh dear God!’ and ignored him as I walked past.

Maybe they don’t meet too many Asian girls travelling solo. Maybe they don’t meet too many Asians period. Oh I was also asked if I was a Filipino (me, a a Filipino?!) or a Chinese. Me, neither. A truly Asian I am though. Anyway, back to the hostel and picked my bag and took the 1730 airport bus (last service for the day) and guess what, the airport was just around the bend from Makenzy Beach. Dang, dang, dang. Euro10 for a cab-ride (you should pay me Euro10 to ride in your bloody cab!).

Reached the airport at 1750 and settled down for a long, long wait, for my next flight out was only in the early hours of the next morning. Really, whoever designed that schedule ought to be shot.

Saturday, 9 May 2009

Vienna Calling
Our flight out was slightly delayed – turned out the outbound flight from Vienna was delayed. So we arrived at Vienna about 25 minutes later than scheduled, enough to make me miss the first direct train to my next destination (dang, dang, dang) and so I had to take the next (indirect) train with one station change, lasting 2.5 hours longer and costing Euro 37 more. Ouch ouch ouch - I don’t earn Euro after all. But well, the next direct train would only reach Zagreb well after 10 pm so I settled in for the long train journey.

Managed to catch about an hour of sleep before joining passengers woke me up. Finally I gave up on sleep and admired the Austrian countryside instead. Train change was at Villach Hbf and I tried frantically to find the right platform for my next train which would depart only six minutes after my first train arrived. Tried to read from the electronic board but it turned out there were two trains departing at the same time and so I still came no closer which platform I should head for.

Asked some train officials and was directed to the right platform, phew. Now if that had happened in Spain, I doubt I’d be able to even ask anyone.

Another four-hour train ride to enjoy. We travelled through Slovenia next.

Dynamo Zagreb
* Before I forget, I’d like to express my gratitude to Fifi who helped provide me with links particularly the Croatian bus timetables without which planning for this leg of the journey would be a lot trickier.
Arrived at Zagreb Glavni kolodvor at 1657 and walked to my hostel – even with the vague map provided on the website, it was easy enough to locate. Went out to explore the vicinity after prayers.

Walked to Katedrala then to Trg bana Josipa Jelačića (Ban Jelačić Square) then turned into Tomiceva and walked up the stairs (you can take the funicular train if you want) for a view of the city. Then I walked to the nearby Croatian Museum of Naïve Art, St Mark’s Church and Kamenita vrata (Stone Gate) before going to Trg Zrtava Fasizma where a former mosque stood (now the Hall of Croatian Artists of Fine Arts). Retraced my steps back to the Main Square. Dinner was had at Nokturno Restaurant right in front of the hostel.

Sunday, 10 May 2009

Woke up at 5 am today for prayers. Packed for lunch and left at 6.15 am (already starting to get bright). Took tram #6 to Folnegovicevo stop and walked to Ulica Gavellina at the end of which is where the Zagreb mosque is (they call it jamia). It is quite a big structure but with my luggage, I didn’t really explore it. Left at 7 and went back to the tram stop to for the tram to Autobusni Kolodvor (bus station) where I bought a ticket to Plitivce Jezera (or Plitvice Lakes National Park. Bus was bound for Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik) for 76 kn (but to store luggage inside the bus, you need to pay an extra 7kn. WTH!). My kn are really depleting already...

Water World

Arrived at Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at 0945 and bought entrance ticket after storing luggage. Walked to Kaluderova Jezero, Novakovica Brod Jezero, Verliki Slap (Veliki Waterfall), Gavanovic Jezero, Milanova Jezero and Kosjak Jezero. Took a boat at Kozjak Jezero to the other side of the lake (at 82 hectare square, it sure was one large lake!) Spent hours at the Lakes.

Took the 1710 bus to Zadar and arrived at Zadar at 1920. Croatian buses are amazingly punctual. Walked to the city centre after buying ticket out and storing luggage. There was a lovely marina and Zadar enjoys a good waterfront view. Went to Trg Narodni (National Square) before checking out the Roman Forum near the Church of St Mary (because I just love ruins) and then the waterfront.

Back at the station at 2130 and waited for the bus out at 2245. Oppps, I spoke too soon about the punctuality because our bus only pulled up at 2255.

Monday, 11 May 2009

Pearl of the Adriatic

Those who seek Paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik.
– George Bernard Shaw -

Lousy sleep, no thanks to bumpy journey. And just as I was about to fall asleep, I was awaken. Here’s the funny part, Dubrovnik is part of the Croatia but to get there by land (alternatively, you can take a ferry to Dubrovnik), you need to cross into Bosnia-Herzegovina. So I was awaken by the border police twice. We finally reached Dubrovnik bus station at 0545. After freshening up, buying ticket for my next trip out and storing my luggage, I took the bus to the city centre. You can buy a day pass for 25 kn from the bus station or pay on the bus (slightly more I think) or walk – for 40 minutes.

I walked in the Dubrovnik Old City starting from Gradska vrata Pile (Pile Gate), passed the entrance to the City Walls, Big Onoforis fountain, and along Placa (Stradun) (main street) up to Orlando’s Column, Bell Tower and Bell Lounge and out to Gradska luka (Old Port). Then I took the City Wall entrance to explore the neighbouring Victorija area.

I returned back to the Old City via the north city entrance and walked along Ulica Prijecko which is at an elevated level to Placa. Indeed flat area in Dubrovnik is limited so one needs to be really fit to climb all those steps (just like in Valletta)! Then I walked back to the old port and around the bend to St John Fort where I met a local bloke who chatted me up (and tried to ask if he could start a relationship with me - hey mate, that’s much too soon surely!). I quickly fled.

Spent the next few hours exploring Gundulic Square where there was a local market selling handicrafts and fruits and also visited the mosque at Ulica Dzamija (even prayed there).

Lunch was had at Dundo Maroje. Things are really expensive here and one practically has to pay for everything. My lunch cost three times more than my dinner in Zagreb (and you’d think you’d pay more in the capital city).

A last stroll through Placa was enjoyed before boarding the cramped bus back the station. My bus departed at 1415 and as before we entered Bosnia-Herzegovina and even made a pit-stop there. We journeyed along the Dalmatian coast with a fantastic view of the sea on our left and barren rugged hillside on our right.

We reached Split at 1845 (funny sight when the bus pulled over at the station was a group of ‘aunties’ rushing forward to entice new strangers into the city to their respective lodgings). Walked to my apartment and went out for a brief stroll later at night.

Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Woke up at 5 am for prayers then at 7. The café opposite the apartment had already sprung to life before 7 am. Left before 9 and went to Diocletian’s Palace entering from Srebna vrata (Silver Gate) and walked to Peristil I Katedrala (Peristil Square and the Cathedral) down to the Diocletian Palace and Basement Halls; out to Riva (waterfront), back to Kastel (Castle – nothing much though; Pjaca (the Square now known as Narodni Trg); Hramovi (Jupiter’s Temple) which was an ancient Roman temple and now St John’s Church (there’s a sphinx in front of the temple and is one of the two brought from Egypt by the Roman Emperor Diocletian); Zlatna vrata (Golden Gate); and back to Peristil. I also found the Islamic Society of Split but it looked more like a centre/school than a mosque.

A chap was chatting me up – met him twice (coincidence? Or was he stalking me?) – and he told me he was a local lad but now staying in Japan. He knew a few Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese and of course Japanese words and was chatting me up in them. He said he loved Asia and everything Asian. Hmmm, maybe we should change places. Anyway, I told him I wanted to check the ferry timetables to Hvar Island (timing not favourable) so we parted ways. Then I walked to the bus station and took a bus to Trogir, about 32 km away. Trogir is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site like Split.

I didn’t spend long in Trogir. The historical city of Trogir was quite compact anyway. Took the bus back to Split not knowing it was a regional bus that stopped at every Tom, Dick and Harry stop. Walked to the train station and bought a train ticket to Rijeka departing that night with a change at Ogulin and a three-hour-plus wait for the next train. Oh joy. (I could of course take a bus but as it would cost a lot more and I slept poorly on the bus before, I decided to take the train instead). It would be a 12-hour journey compared to a seven-hour trip by bus. Anyway, I made up my mind, train it would be. I was warned that there might be a possibility of travelling to Rijeka by bus due to works on the rail tracks.

Thankfully the train had couchettes (two rows of three seats facing each other) where I could stretch out (no way can I do that on a bus). Still couldn’t sleep much though.

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

River City
Woke up at 4 something for prayers. Got down at Ogulin and prepared myself for a three-hour wait. There was a group of six lads also in the waiting room and each claimed a bench.

Train to Rijeka arrived at 0815 but we had to change for a bus at a stop after a thirty-minute train ride (as had been warned to me). The bus ride took us through lush Croatian countryside with forests and narrow streams. Charming, I must say. It had rained earlier so there were still fogs and morning mist still embracing the mountains.

We reached Rijeka train station after 10 am and I made my way to the bus station after asking a Niko Kranjčar doppelgänger at the train station (handsome, you’re wasted behind the counter!). After depositing my luggage, I set out to explore the city. The name Rijeka means River in Croatia due the river flowing into the city and underground springs. It’s a pretty small compact city, one you can cover in an hour (imagine how bored I’d be if I had arrived at 0530 by bus!).

Despite my flight out being rescheduled from 1715 to 2025, I decided to go to the airport early. Rijeka Airport is really tiny and not very disabled-friendly (and not friendly to those travelling alone with a heavy luggage like me). There are stairs instead of lifts or escalators (there’s that ‘machine’ to help a wheelchair-bound person up and down but not helpful for people like me with a bag to haul up and down those stairs. To make matters worse, the washroom is at the lower ground).

Settled down for a long wait. This day had turned out to be a day of waiting/relaxing after all those hectic walking of the past few days. It was also the first day that the day had been cloudy/overcast.

Arrived at Köln-Bonn Airport at 2200 and took the 2234 bus to Koln Hbf. I had decided to spend the last two nights at both Koln and Bonn (besides all hostel rooms in Frankfurt had run out much earlier. I suspect there was a fair going on) and tonight I would sleep in Koln - in a six-bed room at a backpackers’ hostel to be precise (single room no longer available).

Thursday, 14 May 2009


Scented City

After checking out and storing my luggage at the storage room, I set off to explore Cologne. My, it was a chilly day today and I had to return to the hostel to get my jacket. Struggled for a while with the map supplied by the hostel before finally figuring it out. There are surprisingly a number of Roman walls still remaining in the city and I tried to seek them all out. I also went shopping at 4711-house (the most famous brand of Eau de Cologne 4711 got its name when Napoleon counted every house during his occupation of Cologne - and the building was number 4711).

I only returned to the hostel at 4 pm. Took the 1632 train to Bonn Hbf (journey time was only 24 minutes).

City of Beethoven

Walked to the hostel from the station (about 15 minutes). Went out again after 6 to explore the city. It was a small city, smaller than Cologne and quite charming. Unfortunately it started to rain halfway through my walk so I had to hurry before finally seeking refuge in a departmental store. It was also getting dark so I left just before 8 and headed back to the hostel.

Friday, 15 May 2009
Was rudely woken up at three something in the morning by stupid, irresponsible, inconsiderate oafs who were in such a state of drunken stupor and boy, the racket they made. Every few seconds I’d hear a door slam somewhere and footsteps and knockings/thumping. Sounds were vibrating and reverberating throughout the whole building. Not unlike a herd of elephants, I think. It seemed to go on and on and on and just as I thought they’d finally fallen asleep, the noise started again. I actually felt afraid to walk the five metres down the hall to the washroom to take ablution and had to wait a long time for the noise to subside.

Left the hostel at 0730 and walked to the station. The train arrived promptly at 0814 and departed a minute later. I’d bought the ticket online a few months ago and was lucky to purchase it for about half the normal price. It was not an express train but the trip took us through the beautiful Rhine Valley and along the Rhine. Awesome and fantastic views! You should sit on the left side of the train to enjoy the view the view better.

The train took us direct to Frankfurt Airport (how smart and cool is that?) before continuing on its journey with Vienna as the final destination. From the train station, I took a shuttle to Terminal 2 to check-in.

Alas, I couldn’t sleep on the plane...

Saturday, 16 May 2009

Well, this is it. After 16 days, I’m back home. And would you believe it, I only saw masked people at KLIA and not anywhere in Europe!

Every now and then, go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work, your judgement will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in one glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen. – Leonardo da Vinci -

Shopaholic Abroad

As promised, this is my (rather long) account (or mini dissertation, more like) of my recent trip.

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Disclaimer: You have been warned of this post’s length. DO NOT continue if you have short attention span or Attention Deficit Disorder. Adek holds no responsibility whatsoever to any three of you readers for boredom, eye ache, back pain, neck pain, headache, migraine or whatever pain suffered as a result of reading this post.
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Yes, there was some problem with the camera battery charger [and thankfully, not the camera]. Hence, had to buy a new charger that Friday, but hey, better to part with MYR than with Euros trying to find an identical one. As planned, paid off credit card statement and dropped by at Isetan for a short therapy [never am able to resist a good bargain] before going to the moneychanger. Continued last-minute packing, had a little dinner – I needed all the energy I could get – and met Auntie who then dropped me off at University LRT station and from there, I caught a train to KL Sentral for the train to KLIA. It started to pour just after I boarded the train.

Met Lin and friend, checked in our luggage and had a drink before making our way to the boarding gate. Full flight so that dashed our hopes of stretching our legs. Departed at 2345 hours. Managed to get some badly needed sleep but still not enough. Oh well…

Arrived at 0530 hours on Saturday, 29 April 2006, into Flughafen Wien, Osterreich or Vienna International Airport, Austria. Hello (ooo) Vienna Calling, calling… A wet morning it turned out to be too. [Both Lin and I had visited this city previously on separate occasions and all the different times we were there, it rained!] Took our own sweet time [let’s just say that if we were entrants for the Amazing Race, we probably would have been the last to arrive at the pit stop - but we’d arrive in style] collecting our luggage, freshened up and as we missed the first possible half-hourly coach we could logically catch had we hurried, I decided to change some Euros into SKK, HUF and SIT [and good thing we missed the coach too for I discovered the bureau de change lady short-changed me by 20 Euros! That’s enough money for a night’s lodging, man!].

Boarded a coach to Wien Westbahnhof (trains depart from here for France, Switzerland and Germany) ‘cause that was where our hostel was although we were supposed to leave the next day from Wien Sudbahnhof (trains depart from here for Eastern Europe, southern Austria, Italy and former Yugoslavia countries). Saw the beautiful Belvedere from the coach. Good thing we managed to buy ticket for Bratislava at Wien Westbahnhof. Went to the hostel to drop off our luggage and initially encountered a hiccup while checking in – can you believe it, the hostel listed our arrival on 28 April [instead of 29] and wanted to offer us a dorm instead as compensation? I wasn’t feeling too pleased and told Lin we should be adamant and insist the hostel find us a room no matter what, especially since we had booked the room at least a couple of months earlier. Finally, they managed to slot us in – we somehow got an en-suite room, which was better than what we booked, hurrah! After lugging our heavy luggage [and the journey had only started too, tsk tsk tsk…] up two flights of stairs, we were Finally off to explore the city.

The Rain continued doggedly on and we had no choice but to walk in the Wet Wet Wet weather [turned out the spitting rain continued until the end of that day. Well at least it wasn’t the torrential kind]. Felt like kicking myself many times for not packing my umbrella. We took the U Bahn to Stephansplatz located at the heart of Vienna where the St Stephan’s Cathedral is. Being centrally located, it’s a good place to sit and watch Viennese life go by around you but yes, it was raining so we didn’t linger long. Instead, we followed the early Saturday shopping crowd along Karntner Strasse, the elegant shopping street which extends from St Stephan’s Cathedral to the Staatsoper (State Opera House), stopping at times to take capture evidences [i.e. taking pictures] at the Donner Fountain and admiring the various wonderful store displays. Pretty soon, we came to the Hofburg or the Imperial Palace complex, which includes the Albertina Museum State Rooms, the Austrian National Library Papyrus Museum, the Imperial Apartments/Sisi Museum, and the Spanish Riding School. Feeling somewhat famished after all the walking and Singin' In The Rain, we stopped first to have a light meal near the complex’s Butterfly House.

After satisfying ourselves exploring the complex, we sauntered over to the Naschmarkt, which is sited adjacent to Karlsplatz. As it embodies the multicultural character of the city, it’s a must visit for visitors to Vienna. Here, you can find stalls selling varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables standing side by side to that selling fish and meat. There are also some stalls selling kebab and other ready-to-eat food. Further ahead is the Flohmarkt, the flea market that is open every Saturday where you can find antiques, furniture and bric-a-brac to vintage clothing. The weather had however dampened our Shopping spirit and we left empty-handed.

After lunch at a kebab eatery, we travelled to Schloss Schonbrunn where the Schonbrunn Palace is. We reached there just in time to catch among the last few guided tours in the palace. Left shortly after 6 pm and took a tram back to Westbahnhof to our hostel at Felberstrasse. Bought some mineral water at a supermarket which turned out to be carbonated [euwww!]. Dinner at the hostel kitchen.

Sunday, 30 April 2006. Woke up with a slight temperature. Oh uh. The day was as cloudy as the day before and threatened to rain. Had breakfast and took a tram to Wien Sudbahnhof. Auf Wiedersehen Vienna, hello Bratislava!

‘I have devastating news for the aesthetes: old Vienna was once new.’ – Karl Kraus, 1911.

The train ride to Bratislava took only slightly over an hour. Now, Vienna and Bratislava, being only about 75 km apart are the two most nearest capital cities in the world. And apparently (possibly due to this reason), there’s an hourly train service from Vienna to Bratislava and that probably explained why we had the whole carriage all to ourselves. Arrived at Bratislava-Petrzalka station after 11 am [we were rushing to catch our hostel landlord] and yes, in the pissing Rain. Took bus to the city centre and hopped off onto a tram to Dunajska, where our hostel was. Our hostel was located very near Tesco and we Finally found it after walking up and down the street armed with our maps, with a little help from a local kid. Just about managed to catch the landlord as he was leaving, a very nice chap he turned out to be too. And good news, there was a lift in the building!

We then hopped onto another tram and ventured out into the city centre. Turned out to be a pretty charming city. We started off with Bratislavsky Hrad or Bratislava Castle, the symbol of Slovak national pride, which towers over the city and overlooks Dunaj [local name for the River Danube]. We discovered that there was an excellent exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci in the castle and took advantage of it [and also to take shelter from the shower that was starting]. I was beginning to wonder 'Oh, God, Why Does It Always Rain On Me’?

After exploring the castle and its grounds, we walked past St Martin’s Cathedral where the kings of Hungary were crowned for three centuries. See, Slovakia was dominated by the Hungarian Magyar and Austro-Hungarian Empires for many centuries and Bratislava was, for those three centuries, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. Nearby was the 13th century Michalska Brana (St. Michael’s Tower), the only preserved gateway from the city’s fortifications. The cobble-stoned Old Town is a mere short stroll away and is home to small cafes and several Baroque buildings. The Primate’s Palace, where Napoleon and the Austrian Emperor Franz I signed the Peace of Pressburg is also here. It was getting late and we walked back to the hostel [turned out to be pretty near the Old Town!] after buying some kebab [yes, again] to go. Two consecutive days eating kebab, boy, did I feel like a carnivore.

Monday, May Day 2006. As we were already informed that most places close on May Day, we decided to go shopping at Aupark, a modern shopping centre across Dunaj. But first things first: went to Tesco to buy umbrellas for ourselves as we were getting a little tired of being wet. I told Lin that I was sure it would be sunny after our umbrella purchase, mark my word. Next, we went to Bratislava Hlavna stanica (main station) first to buy ticket to Budapest for the next day then caught a bus to Aupark. Bought something similar to Lemsip for my fever and flu and cough and had a wonderful lunch there. And shortly after, the sun finally emerged from behind the clouds to grace us with its sunny presence and it turned out to be a wonderful afternoon after all… now, what did I tell you? Went back to the city and took pictures of sunny Bratislava. Were so happy with the improvement in weather that we bought a gelato each.

Tuesday, 2 May 2006. Oh uh, shouldn’t have had that ice cream. Woke up feeling worse, it was like taking one step forward with medication only to fall behind two long steps. Sheesh. Out to buy last minute souvenirs and then we were off to the main station to catch our train to Budapest. Goodbye Bratislava, I had a good time visiting you.

My left contact lens decided to do a disappearing trick and went AWOL just before we left the Bratislava flat. Now this had happened before, not often, but there has been some history and the previous couple of times it happened, the lens reappeared again after an hour or so from its voyage around the eyeball. So, I thought, not to worry, it’d reappear again soon. Not so this time. I had to travel relying on one contact-lensed eye all the way from Bratislava flat to Budapest apartment!

Reached Budapest Keleti Palyaudvar [palyaudvar, often abbreviated as ‘pu.’ means station and Keleti is the city’s east station] some 2.5 hours later. Lugged our bags up and down the stupid stairs to Keleti pu. metro station – seriously, you’d expect a train station that’s connected to the city Metro (by the way, it’s the oldest Metro in continental Europe) to at least have some escalators for the convenience of weary travellers like us! – and travelled to Blaha Lujza ter, a Metro stop away but alas, after having found the hostel, we were told to board a bus to another apartment located near Nyugati pu. Groaning, we had no choice but to do as exactly told. Turned out we had the whole apartment all to ourselves, cool! Dinner was fish burger from Burger King. Later that evening, I finally managed to coax the left contact lens out and guess what? Only half of the lens appeared; it somehow managed to tear itself along the way. Seriously, with a burning body, I was on the verge of losing my voice, patience and sanity! Good thing I packed some extra lens supply but oh dear, they were all of different colours [yes, I can be so vain]! Lin had also contracted fever and cough by then [no doubt unselfishly supplied by me, sorry dear!] and we seemed to be coughing the night away.

Wednesday, 3 May 2006. Off to explore the city that was created with the joining of Buda and Pest, yes, me with different colour contact lenses and all. [I felt like an odd-eyed cat for the rest of the journey. Meowww!]. We took the Metro to Deak ter and walked over to Szechenyi lanchid or the Chain Bridge. We crossed the Dana [local name for the Danube] over to Buda and rode up the funicular to the Buda Castle Palace, which now houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum. Next, we headed for Halasz Bastya (the Fisherman’s Bastion), near Matyas templom (the Matthias Church). Interestingly, the church was converted overnight into a mosque when the Ottoman armies seized Buda in 1541. The Hafsburgs defeated the Turks 145 years later and reconverted the church. Here, you can get a clearer view of the Parliament across the Dana but now you’ll have to pay for this privilege. We walked until we reached Maria Magdolna Torony (Mary Magdalene Tower) and turned and headed back to Pest.

After lunch, we strolled down Vaci utca, the main artery of Pest, all the way to Budapest Central Market Hall where Hungarian produce and merchandise are sold. Then we hopped onto tram no. 2 to Margitsziget (Margaret Island) in the middle of Dana, passing the impressive Parliament structure along the way. The island is quite sizeable for the KL visitors and we then hopped off onto a bus to bring us around the island. *Sigh* Yes, Budapest is indeed one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I hope to visit it again. But as most other Eastern European folks, Hungarians are passionate about cigarettes – it seemed to be the national pastime [wonder what the death rate from smoke-related cancer is?] – and they also love dogs, big, strong, spoilt canines they keep as pets over there and bring everywhere, just like another family member.

Thursday, 4 May 2006. An early start to the day as we needed to catch the 0825 train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. The day started off with a very light shower. We decided to take the Metro over the tram and that meant an extra few minutes must be allocated to account for lugging the luggage up and down the stupid stairs. For the life of me, I could not understand how the few clothes I packed and the few possessions and toiletries I packed could possibly weigh like a bomb. We got help from a porter who turned out not to be so sincere after all, demanding a huge tip from us. Miserable sod, taking advantage of two helpless, hopeless, hapless girls! Seriously, have genuine acts of chivalry kindness gone out of style?

It was a long train ride, lasting over 8 hours. We only discovered that we would travel through the rest of Hungary into Croatia [which we didn’t expect and hence was a pleasant surprise, yeah a bonus country!] before going into Slovenia (and the train would continue to Venice, its Final Destination). Every now and then, the train conductor or the police/border guards would come to inspect our tickets and passports. The landscape alternated between towns and villages, farm fields, lush jungles, rivers, industrial areas… and occasionally we could see the Hungarians and later the Slovenes working their land, even under noon and, later, the early afternoon sun. We got down at Zagreb to capture the hey-we’re-in-Croatia moment and almost missed the train as it suddenly pulled away from the station!

It was a lovely ride into Slovenia, heading for Ljubljana from Zagreb. The train track runs parallel to River Sava and I admired the huge, green river. It was a pleasant experience sitting in the afternoon sun in the train corridor, looking down into the mighty river. It was as close as I could get to nature then and all that separated me from the green waters then were the train glass panes and the shrubs that grew along the track. It felt almost magical.

Finally reached Ljubljana later that afternoon. We only planned to spend a night there and wanted to travel the following evening [and get to sleep on the train] to Venice but alas, we discovered to our dismay that there would be train strikes in Italy commencing from 9 pm the next day and would last for 24 hours. So we had no choice but to buy an earlier ticket to Venice; otherwise we’d risked being stranded in Ljubljana until after 9 pm on Saturday evening and we didn’t particularly relish arriving in Venice at such a late hour, not to mention having wasted a day.

We checked into Hostel Celica, which used to be a prison, no kidding [Celica in Slovene means 'cell']! Hey, it was a unique experience all right. The stress of the day was beginning to get to me and I was starting to feel weak. Lin had to help me haul my luggage up the stairs and to our assigned cell. After a brief rest, we ventured out to find food. Dinner was at a restaurant selling halal chicken burgers. Upon returning to the hostel, I sent a desperate email to Venice, enquiring the possibility of checking in a day earlier. We then retired to our cell. The hostel proved to be popular among the locals, with many patrons visiting the restaurant downstairs and gregarious fun was heard all the way to our room. Now, Slovenia is the most prosperous of ex-Yugoslav states and its per capita GNP is far above that of most other Eastern European countries. And the hostel we stayed at was our second most expensive after Venice.

The next day, we set off to explore the city. As visiting hours had now been reduced ['cause we needed to catch an earlier train to Venice], we were anxious to visit as many sites possible. But not to worry: Ljubljana turned out to be a pretty compact city and we managed to complete our sightseeing just before lunch. We visited Zmajski most (Dragon Bridge), walked along the banks of the narrow River Ljubljanica to Tromostovje (Triple Bridge) and Presernov trg (Preseren Square), climbed up the hill to Ljubljanski grad (Ljubljana Castle) – sadly, it was not opened and looked to be under some construction or renovation – went down and visited the market where we bought some souvenirs. Next, we strolled down to Cevljarski most (Cobbler’s Bridge), walked all the way to what little remained of Rimski zid (Roman wall), then meandered along the narrow lane past Krizanke Summer Theatre, the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts and the National and University Library. Before we knew it, we were already at Univerza v Ljubjani (University of Ljubljana) and Kongresni trg (Congress Square). Had a filling lunch at nearby Maximarket at Trg republike (Republic Square). The Slovene capital tour was done.

Back to the hostel to rest and check email – the confirmation from Venice only arrived just before we left the hostel [Thank You, God. At least we wouldn’t be homeless that night!] for the train station. Bye Bye Bye fellow inmates! Left Ljubljana just after 5 pm - the train was delayed - and we arrived at Venezia Santa Lucia after 9 pm. Ciao Italia! Struggled with our bags over Ponte di Scalzi, which spanned over Grande Canal. I was tempted to attempt floating my bag across the Grand Canal [but it may sink instead under all that weight and I had no idea how deep the canal was, and I can't swim/dive to save my life to retrieve it should it sink] but some girls [si, shame on you signori!] were thoughtful enough to ask if we needed help. Found our hostel after wandering here and there and stopping at a pizzeria to ask for directions. Overlooking Rio Delle Muneghette, it was a room with a view. We decided we deserved a late night snack [and lunch seemed a distant past then] and went to the pizzeria for some pizza (what else?!).

Saturday, 6 May 2006. A leisurely start to the day. We didn’t really need to Rush Rush out as we were waiting for a mate who was flying into a nearby airfield to join us. Our little trio finally set off shortly after 11 am and we strolled up and down through the maze of canal bridges [Venice is seriously NOT a disabled-friendly city] past Campo San Rocco, Campo San Polo, little winding back-streets and alleys all the way to Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge), stopping occasionally to admire the window displays of Murano glassware and accessories, salivate over the various sumptuous offerings of charming little cafes, check out the various street stalls for souvenir prices and just enjoy the crowd. Being a city consisting of many little islets, connected to each other by hundreds of bridges with hundreds of canals winding through, what is noticeably missing are the vehicles. Yessir, it’s just gondolas, water-taxis and vaporetti (waterbuses). Anyway, back to the Rialto Bridge, which is one of the three bridges or so that span over Grande Canal: it’s a bit like Ponte Vecchio in Florence in that it’s pretty wide and lined on both sides with shops. Rialto Bridge is probably the most famous bridge in Venice [although I couldn't be sure whether I visited it the first time I was there] and is undoubtedly one of the architectural icons of Venice. On top of the bridge, you could admire the dozens of vessels cruising up and down the Canal.

This wasn’t Lin’s first visit either to Venice. My previous visit was At The Height Of Summer many summers ago and I didn't have too fond memories of the place: the canals were stinking , it was scorching hot, there were too many tourists thronging around, and even the water looked a suspicious shade of green - I had to be persuaded to take the gondola ride, warning that I'd need to stand under the shower for an hour should I had the misfortune to tip over and fall into any of the stinking canals. Thankfully, this time around, it's still late spring and the canals had yet to start their horrible stench.

We then made our way to Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square): Basilica di San Marco or St Mark’s Basilica [an amazing Byzantine structure of a church decked out in a riot of gold, marble and mosaic], the Doges’ Palace, the Moors’ Clock Tower are all here, as were hundreds of pigeons [think Trafalgar Square, only multiply the pigeons there by 10]. A gorgeous view of Chiesa della Salute and Isola San Giorgio Maggiore could also be enjoyed here. We spent some time here clicking our cameras away, yes, just like any other tourist. Then we decided to travel by style [take a water-taxi that cost many times that of a vaporetto] to the island of Murano, where Venetian glass is blown. We were given a mini demonstration and taken on a little tour of the impressive ‘factory’/display house/shop. I parted with some Euros here [only to find out later that other shops on the island and even in Venice itself offer more or less the same thing for much less]. We then had a lovely lunch before heading back to Venice. Alighting from the vaporetto, we walked over to Ponte Della Paglia, sighing at the sight of Ponte Dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs). The Bridge of Sighs [also couldn't recall whether I've sighted it on my previous visit] received its name in the 19th century, thanks to Lord Byron who helped to popularise the belief that the bridge's name was inspired by the sighs of condemned prisoners as they were led through it to the executioner on the other side and would most likely see the beautiful sight of the lagoon and the island of San Giorgio and freedom for the last time. (In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals).

Navigating our way back to the hostel proved to be trickier than when we started out to Piazza San Marco – I’m pretty sure we took a lot of completely different routes back. But we somehow made it back. Dinner was had at a nearby restaurant, where we were served by a snotty and bored-looking maitre d’. It wasn’t the best dinner I had, more so because the service was somewhat wanting.

Sunday, 7 May 2006. We checked out today – checkout time is an early 10 am but as there was a considerable queue for the (one and only) bathroom, we managed to ask for a 10.30 checkout time. We headed to Santa Lucia train station where we bought tickets to Como [in Lombardy region, half an hour away from Milan]. I remember very well telling the snobbish ticket lady that we wanted a train ‘after 10 pm tonight’ [I did my homework beforehand and knew there are daily train services to Milan – where we have to change trains for Como – that depart at 10.52 pm and if we board this train, we’d reach Como the next morning so the plan was to sleep on the train and save one night’s lodging]. We then stored our bags at the station and took a leisurely walk to Galleria dell’Accademia (The Academy of Fine Art aka Accademia). After paying Euro6.50 for entry, we spent a good part of almost two hours around. There are two dozens of exhibition rooms in all. While English translations were made available, they mainly describe the origins and history of the paintings and artists, how the paintings were obtained and the 'journey' of the paintings before they all landed up at Accademia, rather than what the paintings described/the messages of the paintings. So really, after a while, I was beginning to lose interest, not to mention, having seen enough versions of Madonna and the Child to remain etched in my memory for some time. We got separated but not to worry, Lin and I could tell where the other was based on our cough (haha, but true).

We Finally emerged out into the afternoon sun and deciding it was time for lunch, shared a lovely pizza at a corner pizzeria outlet. Lin and I looked longingly at all the gelati but after that lack of restraint in Bratislava which we were still paying for, we decided we gotta exercise some discipline and would only have that dream ice cream in Rome. The rest of the afternoon was spent trudging up and down yet more canal bridges and finally resting at Giardino Papadopoli, watching kids play in the park. After the much-needed rest, we agreed to check out the Ghetto where the local Jewish community is concentrated. We then had dinner at a trattoria, this time trying out the menu turistico. A superb meal was had by all and the service was very good too [we met the friendly maitre d’ again at the train station later and he actually exchanged light banter with us].

It was time to leave [or so we thought]. Collected our bags and waited to board the train, only to find out at the eleventh hour [and it was literally close to 11 pm too] that our ticket was meant for travelling that morning’s train to Como – now isn’t it simply coincidental or just pure bad luck that there is also a 10.52 am train service that could deliver us ultimately to Como?! What to do? After consulting some officers who looked like they knew what they were talking about despite the language barrier and resorting to sign languages, we were made to understand that we could change the ticket and/or be able to get some refund – but only if we change it at Santa Lucia itself. And the ticket counter was already closed and would only re-open at 6 am the next morning…! Lo and behold, from a one-night stay in Venice as originally intended and planned, we now had to spend our third night there, yes, in the city with most things at highly inflated prices! [The first night lodging which was secured at the last minute cost us Euro40 each, can you beat that?]. It didn’t take long for us to decide camping at the station [for how else could you find accommodation for three people at 11 pm in Venice without forking out wads of Euros?]. And mind you, train stations, especially in Italy [and I believe almost everywhere else] are not exactly the safest places in the world to be at, at night]. Oh well, safety in numbers. We even joked about having sentry duties. And it was Good Night, And Good Luck to us.

The station was closed at 0030 hours [that’s half an hour after midnight] so we had to camp outside. We sought refuge behind two marble pillars right outside the station, at least it would shield us from the chilly night winds [and this was definitely a better choice over some freezing stone-marble benches that were stinking of urine]. So there we were, under the fresco ceiling of fish seemingly swimming above us, slowly and surely getting chilled to the bone by the cold marble floor [that seemed to get colder by the minute and I was in my summer slacks] and the canal breezes, accompanied by dodgy-looking and behaving characters that seemed to dart around us [probably preying on us] and the sound of the occasional vaporetto and other nocturnal noises of thing that go Bump In The Night, all the while willing time to go faster. I couldn’t quite shake away visions of the king-size beds I sleep in at my current residence and at my parents’. Camping outside Santa Lucia is certainly an experience I won't forget in a hurry!

Finally, at 4.30 am, the station was opened and we rushed in thankfully. Alas, the seats in the station weren’t that comfortable either and cut through one’s skin but hey, at least we escaped the chill already! Beggars can’t be choosers, right. Another wait for the ticket office to open and yes, we managed to change our ticket to that very morning’s train service at a minimal penalty. As the train was ready at the platform, we quickly boarded it, chose our couchettes and fell into an exhausted slumber… for me, all the way to Milano.

Had to change trains at Milan for the train bound for Stuttgart. Bought some muffins at the Milan Central station for breakfast. The train ride to Como took only half an hour and at long last, after all that adventure, we arrived in Como, knackered and dishevelled. Now, Como is an ancient silk-producing city on the southern tip of Lago di Como (Lake Como). The city seemed to be shrouded in a haze [of high moisture in the air] when we got there and the view was a bit obscure. We somehow managed to locate our Como hostel, about 20 minutes’ trudge away from Como San Giovanni. As check-in time was from 1 pm, we walked along Lago di Como (Lake Como) to try to find out the water-bus schedules [it takes you to small villages along the lake and who knows hopefully, maybe we could also sight George Clooney’s villa or if we’re luckier, Clooney himself]. We returned back to the hostel, checked in, got shown to our room and practically just got Knocked Out. Not even the alarm that I set for a potential ferry trip could entice me from the sleep I badly deserved and needed.

At last we stirred, having rested and ventured out for a meal [yes, we were practically fasting the whole day]. A lovely dinner was had at a Turkish-owned pizzeria and I had Turkish pizza [delicious!!!] and after having regained our strength and energy, took an evening walk along the lake. A simply stunning setting for a romantic getaway, you just Can’t Help Falling In Love with the place [and no, you don’t need the ferry ride after all to love the place].

Tuesday, 9 May 2006. A rainy start to the day but not to worry, we each had umbrellas! So rain or shine, we were going to stick to our plan for the day, which was pure hedonistic Shopping pleasure...! Bought slices of pizza from a nearby supermarket and walked to Como San Giovanni. Purchased tickets for the day and also the next day’s travel. We had ample time for breakfast while waiting for the train to Chiasso, just a few km away. Yes, we were crossing over to Switzerland and from Chiasso, we needed to change trains for Mendrisio. We had to buy tickets to Mendrisio at Chiasso [funny, I once managed to buy return ticket from Milano to Mendrisio] and so had to pay for the purchase in Swiss Francs. The counter lady confidently told us to go to binario 13 [if my memory served me right] for our train [due to depart shortly] so we hurried over, but not before I checked the schedule board, where it stated that the train would normally depart from platform 4. Nevertheless, she sounded like she knew what she was talking about, plus she worked there. We waited and waited and I thought, funny, I don’t think Swiss trains are that inefficient for it was 5 minutes past the scheduled partenze time and yet, no train in sight! When we checked with someone else, we were informed that we had missed the train [which arrived at binario quattro after all] and that the next train would come along in half an hour. Duh! That wasn’t exactly going to help restore my confidence in silly, misinformed train personnel! No choice but to wait and that was when I found out that Arsenal had secured 4th placing in the EPL after beating Wigan and Spurs being beaten by West Ham, thanks to the Swiss daily someone left in the waiting room.

Finally, the train arrived and we reached Mendrisio a few minutes later. Walked to FoxTown factory outlet. Now, this isn’t anything like the factory outlets you get in the States with the normal GAP, Aigner and Jockey stores but one that has premier brands under its roof: think GUCCI, Prada, Ferragamo, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Bally, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, Cerruti et al rubbing shoulders with Adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok and other brands like Samsonite, GUESS?, Diesel etc etc etc. Yes, definitely my kind of place – and I think we deserved it after the misfortune in Venice. Spent a few hours there, happy in my element, Shopping or at least feasting my eyes away. Btw, they accept both CHF and Euros [though if you pay in Euros, they normally return the change in CHF] and of course, plastics are also acceptable. I didn’t inflict any damage to my plastic, you’ll be happy to know, but I did spend. No shoes though, wasn’t able to find any to my liking. We were so engrossed in the delights of FoxTown that we almost forgot to eat [well, at least I wasn’t feeling hungry until I’ve made a purchase]! We left the place at around 5 sth, a few hundred Euros poorer, but definitely happier with the bargains we found. Yes cara, I’m a serious bargain hunter!

Took the train back to Como [no additional Swiss stamps in our passports, alas]. By now, the rain had stopped and it helped lifted the haze. Back to the hostel to store our purchases and after performing prayers, we took the funicular up to the village of Brunate [I don’t think it merits the town status] where we had a good bird’s eye view over Como and the surrounding towns and villages. On a clear day, you could even sight Turino and Chiasso. Spent about an hour up there exploring life on the high side [new term I just coined] and went down again. I must admit I was a bit terrified of going down; I always prefer going up, uphill, up the cable car, up the funicular, but never enjoyed going down. Had dinner at the same Turkish restaurant, it seriously served good food though I wouldn’t know if Anthony Bourdain would be interested in dropping by. Back to the hostel to shower, pack etc and had an early night.

Wednesday, 10 May 2006. Left Como early in the morning; we planned to stop in Milan for a few hours en route to Rome. Reached Milan 9 sth and after storing our luggage at the left luggage, we bought the 3 pm tickets to Rome [journey to take 4.5 hours]. Then only did we set off for the city. Before I forget, the Milano Centrale is a pretty impressive building and pretty huge too.

Walked along Via Vitruvio to Corso Buenos Aires [where many stores lined up the street, awesome window displays!] and continued to Corso Venezia and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II before reaching Piazza del Duomo. Duomo, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world is sited here and to the north of of the Duomo is La Scala at Piazza della Scala, the famous opera house. A statue of the genius Leonardo da Vinci in his thoughtful pose stood nearby. Oh, not to forget the magnificent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, just a few metres away from Leonardo. The Gallery houses premier luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, GUCCI, Tod’s and Prada. We then strolled to Castello Sforzesco.

All that walking made me real hungry and we had lunch at the most unlikely place, a Chinese restaurant! Turned out the maitre d’ is from Malaysia [though he didn’t seem to understand the concept of halal, and he’s only just started working there for 1.5 months, fie on your ignorance]. The meal was nothing to shout about but at least it was edible.

Rushed back to the station and since the train station is so huge that you could see it from a distance, it seemed to take Forever to reach it. Boarded the train as soon as the binario information was displayed and my oh my, the train was really full! Each seat was taken and no couchette this time so that dashed any hope of a sprawl. We travelled through Lombardy into Emilia-Romagna [the train stopped at Bologna] to Tuscany [it stopped again here at Florence] before finally reaching Lazio. The train was somehow delayed for about 15 minutes in arriving at Rome. Tutte le strada portano a Roma – All roads lead to Rome [and railway tracks too!] and we finally arrived at the Eternal City.

From Roma Termini, we walked down Via Giovanni Giolitti to find our hostel. I wasn’t too impressed with the cramped flat, much less at the sight of the messy room turned dormitory [shared by seven females (or so)]. Turned out that we were supposed to stay elsewhere three blocks away. Phew! What a relief! [Now why didn’t you just let us know that earlier in the email?].

We were brought to our new lodging place at Via Napoleone III, which looked more respectable but lo and behold, there was a Snoop Doggy dog which answered to the strange name of Egor (spelling?) in residence there! [And a lot of shrieking was to be heard for the next couple of days from yours truly at any close encounter with the four-legged creature]. Our room had five beds bunk-style but at least we had it all to ourselves. One downside we soon discovered: the apartment had eccentric hot water supply: you need to shiver close to the streaming cold water shower before hot water dripped down for a few minutes in which you really need to hurry showering before the water scald your skin. And no, you can’t adjust the water dial ‘cause just a little twist to the right and you’d risk getting hypothermia from the freezing water that instantly spouted out. It took a bit of exhanging tips, strategising and later standing close to the shivering cold or scalding hot water before you get the right water temperature which lasted briefly anyway. I can’t quite explain this strange ‘phenomenon’ and I’m not sure if any law of physics could either.

During dinner, we befriended a friendly Australian couple. The other lodgers however shied away from us and kept to themselves.

Thursday, 11 May 2006. Turned out there were quite a few lodgers sharing the same apartment as evidenced by the long queues for the shower and bathroom. At one point, I wondered out aloud how many were there for I had lost count. Arneil, the Filipino girlfriend of Dino, the apartment owner, said there were enough people and she’s even taken to sleeping on the couch in the living room if there are too many guests! We weren’t sure if she was pulling our leg but there seemed to be some element of truth in her statement. Oh well, I sure hoped she knew how many lodgers were camping out in the apartment, you never know when such info may come in handy, like in the case of fire for example. You need to know that you’ve managed to evacuate everyone to safety and not let any of your lodgers [and dog] perish, although somehow I suspect Egor the dog would be the first to be evacuated.

Anyway, back to happier thoughts. We took the Metro to Scalinata di Spagna at Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) with the beautiful Fontana della Il Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat), both at the foot of Chiesa dei Trinita dei Monti. There are many boutiques around the Spanish Steps [think Dior, Tiffany, Bvlgari…]. Next, we checked out a nearby discount outlet – it stocked branded clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories [my mate was amazed how we managed to find out about the place, well, I reiterate, I am a serious bargain hunter!]. Spent some time there but left empty-handed. Took a bus to a departmental store on Via del Corso then walked past Piazza Colonna, Piazza di Montecitorio to Pantheon at Piazza della Rotonda [this amazing structure was started in 27 BC and was a temple to the gods for over 600 years before becoming a Christian church in the 7th century] and continued on to Campo de Fiori [there’s a market here] before checking out Piazza Navona. It was beginning to pour and we were prepared with umbrella [thanks to weather updates courtesy of BBC Weather]. Yup, everywhere you go, you always take the Weather With You…

We then headed back to the Pantheon area for lunch at this charming place. Lunch was another menu turistico, which was quite good. The rain finally cleared and we spent the rest of the day window-Shopping and searching for last-minute souvenirs. Lin and I have been to Rome before and had visited Colosseo (the Coliseum), Arco di Costantino (Arch of Constantine), Platino (Palatine Hill) and even the Vatican City on our previous visits. We still couldn’t resist visiting the fountain of Rome, what else if not Fontana di Trevi at Piazza di Trevi (the Trevi Fountain)! Now when in Rome, do as the Romans do, so of course we didn’t join the other coin-throwing visitors for Romans would never throw coins into Trevi, right? [And we still manage to return to Rome so far regardless.] Next, we went to get ourselves the promised reward of a great gelato from Fragola e Limone on Via Giustiniani, near Pantheon.

After traipsing a bit more around the citta and feasting on the ruins – including Tempio Adriano – and new structures such as Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II (Monument to Victor Emanuele II), we headed back to the hostel. I just love this city and its buildings – I can never tire of looking at beautiful buildings, be them ruins or new structures. In fact, I just love Italy [I didn’t much like it when I first visited it though]. Besides buildings and ruins, there are just so many eye candies around you to ogle at [don’t worry, I usually just about manage to stop myself from grinning stupidly when I ogle], even when they are clad in boring old navy blue or black business suits.

Back at the hostel, we packed for our departure the next day – ahhh, Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)! It was an early night for us.

Friday, 12 May 2006. Our last day in Rome. Somehow I managed to pack everything into my duffel trolley bag, three cheers for me! We left the hostel just before 10.30 am and walked to Termini where we planned to take the express train to Aeroporto di Fiumicinio (aka Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci). We were in time for the 1052 train and as I was boarding the train and struggling with my bag, a girl offered to help me. Turned out her comrade was behind me trying to open my backpack [and succeeding]. I only realised it when a girl shouted at me, ‘Hey, watch out! Watch your bag!’ I turned and true enough, it was opened [crafty, sneaky girls] but alhamdulillah nothing was missing. The two girls pretended like nothing happened and calmly walked out of the train. The thing is, they looked like they were locals, not the sort you’d expect to be involved in such acts [I’m not a racist or prejudiced , but they don’t look like the type you normally associate as pickpockets such as gypsies or drug addicts].

The train was slow in its departure and when it finally left the station, it travelled pretty slowly [for an express train! We took the same service before in our last trip and I didn't recall it taking that long then]. We only reached the airport about an hour later and there were so many people already waiting restlessly at the platform to board the train that those alighting had difficulty fighting their way through the impatient crowd. A few people even jumped down the next track and climbed out from there – it certainly looked faster, but I wasn’t about to follow suit with my oh ever-so-heavy bag.

Check-in was a breeze and we immediately went through the customs to the duty-free and tax refund. Bought chocolates [great ones!] at Venchi chocolate shop and then we took the skytrain to our gate. Our flight took off slightly a few minutes later than scheduled and I somehow dozed off during take off [now, that was the first time] and when I next opened my eyes, we were already airborne.

The good thing about MAS flights from Rome is that they are usually not full so you get to change seats and stretch yourselves. But the route is over the Arab peninsular and there was bad turbulence over that area [also happened the last time we flew out of Rome] probably due to the air pressure resulting in air pocket. I was coughing [still] and that was exactly what I was doing in the bathroom when suddenly I threw up [and that hadn’t happened for a long, long time]. Gosh, it was a bumpy ride and I felt almost ill throughout. Also, they only serve you lunch and the next meal is breakfast. I was really famished and had to ask the air hostess to supply me with some crackers.

Saturday, 13 May 2006. We touched down at KUL at 0730 hours. Our bags were out early so much so that I managed to catch the 0815 ERL train to KL Sentral and from there, cabbed it back to current residence.

And that just about summed up our little adventure.

I found Rome a city of bricks, and left it a city of marble. ~Augustus Caesar

Adek’s travelling tips:

Book your flights early; take advantage of ticket deals [we took advantage of the MAS travel fair in February; we started planning for this trip in December 2005. Hey, after all, need to save that dosh, man]. Sometimes though, you may get a good deal from last-minute purchases as the airline tries to fill its empty seats but I think this is quite rare.

Book hostels using the Internet [some seasoned travellers take the chance and find accommodation only when they arrive but I can’t do that ‘cause as a girl, I gotta be extra careful] and book early to avail of better deals ‘cause prices tend to go up the nearer you are to check-in date.

Have a great travelling partner who complements you – Lin and I have been travelling together a few times already, Just The Two Of Us: She’s calm, I’m not. She’s patient, I’m a short fuse. She’s careful, I’m such a scatterbrain that I’ve lost tickets here, there and everywhere and had to pay fines even! [so all tickets were handed to her for safe storage]. She packs light, I seem to bring half the wardrobe along with me [and I get to share her luggage quota, cheers mate!]. She keeps an eye on me and helped me from being pick-pocketed once in London, and I keep an eye on her too [even when my left contact lens did the disappearing trick]. I am a good travel planner and read maps better than she does usually [ahem! Look there's got to be something I'm good at, besides Shopping ok!], she tells me where to go and I lead the way. Etc etc etc. Yes, we really click. Gosh, we’ve shared so many experiences together, haven’t we. Remember, have a great travelling partner. Don’t travel with someone for the sake of company ‘cause you never know when you’re going to have that fall out and it wouldn’t be great at all to have that in the midst of your trip with a lot more ground you hope to cover. Also make sure you have the same interests ‘cause you don’t want to be quarrelling over what/where to visit once you’ve reached your destination.

Save money. Loads of it. And have plastic on the ready and if need be, have an extra card or ask for a temporary increase in credit limit. But do stick to your budget [and do have one!] ‘cause you don’t want to be spending the next few months miserably paying off your credit card balance. But money is not just for shopping but also emergencies like if you suddenly get ill or if you need to pay for an unexpected unbudgeted extra night accommodation in Venice.

Do your homework. Work out the routes, agree on them and then try to find airlines or trains that can transport you from point A to point B [unless you wanna drive or hitch hike!]. Yes, it is possible to work out the train time table, trust me. I managed to do all those [it’s just pure coincidence coupled with bad luck that there are 10.52 am and 10.52 pm trains leaving Venice for Milan, ok!] and find a few travelling times possibilities ‘cause you never know when you gotta be flexible and reschedule your carefully well-laid plans. Also do your homework on the city. Everything possible, not just the sights to see, places to explore, things to do and local cuisine to sample etc. But you must also know roughly the city transportation system, where/which part of city is the railway station located, how to get to/fro airport/train station to the city or your hostel and the cost of that travel, the location of your hostel [in high-risk area? Near any metro route?]. Also you need to weigh the cost of staying at the outskirt of the city and paying lower for accommodation against travelling costs into the city. Don’t forget also your choice of sleeping arrangement. Single travellers always have to pay more but do you really want to share a dormitory with a dozen other strangers? Yes, it’s a good way to make new friends but how safe do you feel? Are you particular about having an en-suite room or do you not mind sharing the bathroom?

Always be on your guard. Be wary of suspicious characters. Having said that, both Lin and I had been subjected to such misfortune before, she almost being pick-pocketed in Barcelona and me in Prague and London and more recently Rome [and yes, my handbag has been snatched and I’ve been pick-pocketed in good ol’ KL]. But some locals can be really helpful and eager to help, although don’t be surprised or disappointed should more locals ignore you even as you struggle with your map and trying to read the street name in Slovak or whatever non-English language.

Try to eat well before and during the trip. Also get enough exercise ‘cause you’re going to be doing a lot of walking all over the place – best way to explore and discover any place is on foot! Pack some pills also if necessary.

Mix with the locals, get to know their culture, history, learn a bit of the language, buy local products. Must be socially responsible tourists. Also, conserve resources as far as you can.

The above list is by no means exhaustive, just the few things I can think off the top of my head at the moment. If you have any other travelling tips, do share [I still got a lot to learn myself, like how to pack light!].

Last but not least,

Return ticket on MAS to Europe: RMxxxx

Accommodation, Food, Transportation: Euroxxx/SKKxxx/HUFxxx/SITxxx/RMxxxx equivalent

Retail therapy damage: Euroxxx/SKKxxx/HUFxxx/SITxxx/CHFxxx/RMxxxx equivalent

Good times had, adventures shared, experiences gained etc: PRICELESS

For everything else, there’s MasterCard.

Ciao, Adek
[already thinking of the next trip]