Sunday, 15 May 2011
GVA-AMS
Take Me Home
Another early start for me. Woke at 5, showered, performed prayers and had a little something to eat. Set off for the train station at 0615 - the bus service on Sundays only commence at 0843 but I needed to catch the 0652 train so it was either a CHF30-cab ride (that’s almost RM105!) to the station about four minutes away or walk the 1.8-km or so. I chose the latter. Lin was kind enough to accompany me. We took 30 minutes to reach the station.
I reached Bern at 0713 then took the 0734 train to Geneva Airport after spending the last of my francs on food in the station. It was an uneventful trip and we reached Geneva Airport after 105 minutes. Geneva is in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and you can just sense it as early as Lausanne.
I checked in and went to check out the duty-free shops (yes, despite being franc-less). Geneva Airport has a number of duty-free shops and boutiques such as Hermès, Cartier and Chopard.
We took off at 1120 and reached Amsterdam after 1 pm. After collecting my bag and performing prayers, I went to search for the left luggage (you need Euro coins for this. I didn’t have a small Euro note so I had to change that first into smaller denominations before changing a note into coins. There are machines to change your notes to coins at the left luggage area). Next, I headed for the Tourist Information Centre at the airport. And this was where my Amsterdam trip started on a sour note. I was served by a patronising and condescending b*tch who replied to my queries with a bored, arrogant air. I parted with some sarcastic replies on my own, muttering and cursing as I left. Stupid b*tch. Hello, if you work in the service industry and especially at the Tourist Information Centre in an airport where you’re likely the first point of reference for any tourist, don’t be patronising, condescending or arrogant, OK.
She really put me in a bad mood and I took the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station still fuming. I walked a bit then located a hotel and asked for directions to the shopping area. Yes, I was in Amsterdam solely to shop. I had visited the city before and I hadn’t shopped much on this trip so my priority was to shop. The nice chap gave me the directions and a map so I set off.
I had stumbled upon Amsterdam’s infamous red light district before (it’s even shown in city maps!). Hence it was not on my list of things-to-do in Amsterdam this time
‘Til the next whirlwind trip then, insyaAllah.
GVA-AMS
Take Me Home
Another early start for me. Woke at 5, showered, performed prayers and had a little something to eat. Set off for the train station at 0615 - the bus service on Sundays only commence at 0843 but I needed to catch the 0652 train so it was either a CHF30-cab ride (that’s almost RM105!) to the station about four minutes away or walk the 1.8-km or so. I chose the latter. Lin was kind enough to accompany me. We took 30 minutes to reach the station.
I reached Bern at 0713 then took the 0734 train to Geneva Airport after spending the last of my francs on food in the station. It was an uneventful trip and we reached Geneva Airport after 105 minutes. Geneva is in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and you can just sense it as early as Lausanne.
I checked in and went to check out the duty-free shops (yes, despite being franc-less). Geneva Airport has a number of duty-free shops and boutiques such as Hermès, Cartier and Chopard.
We took off at 1120 and reached Amsterdam after 1 pm. After collecting my bag and performing prayers, I went to search for the left luggage (you need Euro coins for this. I didn’t have a small Euro note so I had to change that first into smaller denominations before changing a note into coins. There are machines to change your notes to coins at the left luggage area). Next, I headed for the Tourist Information Centre at the airport. And this was where my Amsterdam trip started on a sour note. I was served by a patronising and condescending b*tch who replied to my queries with a bored, arrogant air. I parted with some sarcastic replies on my own, muttering and cursing as I left. Stupid b*tch. Hello, if you work in the service industry and especially at the Tourist Information Centre in an airport where you’re likely the first point of reference for any tourist, don’t be patronising, condescending or arrogant, OK.
She really put me in a bad mood and I took the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station still fuming. I walked a bit then located a hotel and asked for directions to the shopping area. Yes, I was in Amsterdam solely to shop. I had visited the city before and I hadn’t shopped much on this trip so my priority was to shop. The nice chap gave me the directions and a map so I set off.
I had stumbled upon Amsterdam’s infamous red light district before (it’s even shown in city maps!). Hence it was not on my list of things-to-do in Amsterdam this time
It started off well and I managed to buy some souvenirs and brooches that I’d planned to buy. Then, sighting a departmental store, I went to ask for directions to the boutiques. The nice girl at Lacoste store gave me directions to P.C. Hoofstraat and the tram info. So I took tram no. 1 (and the kind conductor told me I needn’t pay for my fare. See, not everyone in Amsterdam is mean). After a while, I started getting worried. The tram was obviously not sticking to its route and finally I got down at a station and endured a long wait for a train to Centraal.
The train finally came and at the next stop, a lot of people boarded. Turned out they were Ajax Amsterdam fans and they obviously just got back from a match and were in a boisterous rowdy mood (Ajax won the Eredivisie that day).
It got worse when we reached Centraal and Ajax fans were everywhere. I finally located an info centre for public transportation and asked for the route to get to P.C. Hoofstraat. This time, I took tram no. 5 and confirmed with the tram driver that he would be passing P.C. Hoofstraat.
But guess what? The tram stopped a few times and didn’t move for prolonged intervals. I was starting to worry as I had to return to the airport for my flight home. I asked a fellow passenger and she informed that it didn’t look as if the tram was sticking to its route, probably because of the disruption caused by Ajax Amsterdam supporters.
I was starting to get furious and alighted at the next stop and took another tram back to Centraal. And guess what. There were some works going on at the station and the trains to Schiphol were at various platforms. Great.
Anyway, I managed to reach the airport after 7 pm and after freshening up, checked in my bag. I was still pissed from the unpleasant experiences today that I only gave the duty-free shops a cursory look before heading for my gate.
Our flight took off on time (another big jumbo). I watched a bit of Eat, Pray, Love (solely to watch James Franco. I don’t like Julia Roberts) and then Unstoppable before trying to sleep.
Monday, 16 May 2011
We landed at KLIA after 3 pm. Our bags took a while to make their appearance; I managed to perform prayers and still had time to kill before my bag appeared. Reached home sweet home at 6.30 pm.
~~~~~~~~
So that was my account of my 2.5 weeks of a mad whirlwind trip. I did wonder if I had bitten off more than I could realistically chew when I planned the journey. And it did take some time to finalise my plan: searching for airlines to get from A to B; ensuring there is ample connection time; coordinating the dates (Airline X may fly to destination B but only on certain days); trawling the Internet for information on places that are expensive to fly into/have limited airlines flying there and for bus service schedules for those places that are only connected by road (especially in Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia)... while at the same time ensuring I got the most out of my trip and visited all the places that I wanted and ticked them off my to-do list.
I know not everyone would be prepared to go on a trip through 15 countries (whether passing through, transiting at or dropping by) in only 17.5 days (including travelling time), sleeping in buses, train station and airport (I only had accommodation for nine nights) so that was why I took this trip solo. So that I could go where I want when I want, see what I want, visit what I want, sleep where I don’t mind and yet not compromise my ambition. I know there would be people who would discourage me or tell me I was mad or over-ambitious but alhamdulillah, I stuck to my plan and did it. Never ever let someone tell you that you can’t do it.
So 2.5 weeks, 15 countries (seven of them which I’d never been to) and 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (including one in the Danger List) later, I’m back home - with a tan and no regrets at all. Thank you, God, for this opportunity to see Your world and marvel at Your creation.
The train finally came and at the next stop, a lot of people boarded. Turned out they were Ajax Amsterdam fans and they obviously just got back from a match and were in a boisterous rowdy mood (Ajax won the Eredivisie that day).
It got worse when we reached Centraal and Ajax fans were everywhere. I finally located an info centre for public transportation and asked for the route to get to P.C. Hoofstraat. This time, I took tram no. 5 and confirmed with the tram driver that he would be passing P.C. Hoofstraat.
But guess what? The tram stopped a few times and didn’t move for prolonged intervals. I was starting to worry as I had to return to the airport for my flight home. I asked a fellow passenger and she informed that it didn’t look as if the tram was sticking to its route, probably because of the disruption caused by Ajax Amsterdam supporters.
I was starting to get furious and alighted at the next stop and took another tram back to Centraal. And guess what. There were some works going on at the station and the trains to Schiphol were at various platforms. Great.
Anyway, I managed to reach the airport after 7 pm and after freshening up, checked in my bag. I was still pissed from the unpleasant experiences today that I only gave the duty-free shops a cursory look before heading for my gate.
Our flight took off on time (another big jumbo). I watched a bit of Eat, Pray, Love (solely to watch James Franco. I don’t like Julia Roberts) and then Unstoppable before trying to sleep.
Monday, 16 May 2011
We landed at KLIA after 3 pm. Our bags took a while to make their appearance; I managed to perform prayers and still had time to kill before my bag appeared. Reached home sweet home at 6.30 pm.
~~~~~~~~
So that was my account of my 2.5 weeks of a mad whirlwind trip. I did wonder if I had bitten off more than I could realistically chew when I planned the journey. And it did take some time to finalise my plan: searching for airlines to get from A to B; ensuring there is ample connection time; coordinating the dates (Airline X may fly to destination B but only on certain days); trawling the Internet for information on places that are expensive to fly into/have limited airlines flying there and for bus service schedules for those places that are only connected by road (especially in Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia)... while at the same time ensuring I got the most out of my trip and visited all the places that I wanted and ticked them off my to-do list.
I know not everyone would be prepared to go on a trip through 15 countries (whether passing through, transiting at or dropping by) in only 17.5 days (including travelling time), sleeping in buses, train station and airport (I only had accommodation for nine nights) so that was why I took this trip solo. So that I could go where I want when I want, see what I want, visit what I want, sleep where I don’t mind and yet not compromise my ambition. I know there would be people who would discourage me or tell me I was mad or over-ambitious but alhamdulillah, I stuck to my plan and did it. Never ever let someone tell you that you can’t do it.
So 2.5 weeks, 15 countries (seven of them which I’d never been to) and 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (including one in the Danger List) later, I’m back home - with a tan and no regrets at all. Thank you, God, for this opportunity to see Your world and marvel at Your creation.
‘Til the next whirlwind trip then, insyaAllah.
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