Round the World 2009-10

Niagara Falls - Philadelphia - New York - Washington DC - Chicago - South Bend - San Francisco - Sacramento - Reno

2010-07-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

July 1 - 31, 2010

Such a nice sunny day today :) And I'm glad too, because it's Canada Day which means lots of people will be out, and there should be a lot to do! After breakfast, we walked to the falls; I have countless photos now of the American Falls, and the Horseshoe Falls. Way too many...

Walked up the touristy little area of Clifton Hill, so much going on there. Museums of all sorts, fast food restaurants, souvenir stores, and just fun stuff for kids...though I think I would enjoy them too :) It was kind of like a Las Vegas-type area for kids.

We went back to the hostel for lunch & some rest, before returning to the falls for the light show, & fireworks. It was pretty cool, & we had a really great spot :) The place was packed! It was difficult to get out of the crowd at the end of the show, but we managed to weave ourselves out :)

The following morning, we went the other direction, where I thought the waters would be calmer. It wasn't, instead it was rapids and "whirlpools" as they would call it. Nothing much to see down that end, except for a big souvenir store, and of course Chocolate World. So back up to the falls, to a park and just people-watched for a while.

Overnight bus to Philadelphia, and it was late to leave. It was a good thing, that we had a long lay over in Buffalo before the next bus arrives. Got to the US border, and again another group of pain-in-the-ass-people asking the MOST STUPID questions. I swear, they should just be my friend on Facebook so they know what my plans are, and what I'm doing. Is it really that hard to believe to be taking a year off to travel? What century are these people living in anyway? And is it difficult to give a slight smile rather than look like you have a stick up your ass??? Though smiling for them might make them look constipated...so never mind!

Yeay New York! But not for long, we had to change buses here for Philadelphia. When we finally arrived, it was a long walk in the heat, and it didn't matter that it was still early in the morning. This next hostel - HI-Philadelphia-Apple Hostel, is located in a small alley, one of the oldest in the area. I also stayed here last time, though now owned by a different company and looks brand-spanking-new! Loved the bright colours, the cleanliness, the staff, hostel events, free cereal :) and the massive kitchen! We went to Penn's Landing in the evening to watch the fireworks. You know, I don't think I want to see another fireworks display for awhile...

Independence Day...so it was fitting that our first stop was the Independence Hall, the Great Essentials exhibit (which had the ink stand that supposedly "witnessed" the signing of the declaration), toured the Congress Hall, and finally the Liberty Bell. Then sat by the curb on Market St, under a tiny shade waiting for the parade to start. *YAWN* It was long and nothing great, and the sun moved so fast that we were under the sun for most of the parade. The only good thing that came out of this was the free cake at the Visitor Center ;)

We saw Benjamin Franklin's grave at the Christ Church Burial Ground, then went to the United States Mint. Back to the hostel in time for the free BBQ, mmm chicken hot dog :) Later when it was a lot cooler, we walked to Elfreth's Alley (it's the oldest, continuously inhabited street in the US), Betty Ross' House (she sewed the first flag), the Arch St Friends Meeting House, Christ Church, and the First Bank of the United States.

Went to see the "LOVE" sculpture at JFK Plaza, then to Reading Terminal Market. I guess it's best to go there on weekends, the only thing that was open was the cafes, and diners. Walked to Benjamin Franklins Court, and the underground museum. Looked at the exhibit in the Second Bank of the United States. And for lunch had the Philly Cheesesteak from Steaks on South (SOS)...I was surprised I liked it :) Also checked out the City Hall before calling it a day.

Caught the bus to Washington DC just after lunch. It took longer to get there than usual, since it was so traffic. Then took the metro to Courtyard Marriott in Vienna to meet with Tata (my uncle) who I haven't seen since 2004! I also met his partner tita Marisa, and her daughters Bea, and Isa :) We went out to dinner at the "best" (according to Tata) Italian Restaurant ever. Well I just agreed, I'm pretty sure I've had better :P

Woohoo! There's a gym, and we used it first thing in the morning for about half an hour. Took the metro to Washington DC (about 30 minutes) arriving at Smithsonian. Went to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was the most graphic presentation I've ever seen about that subject; so much video recordings and pictures. We were there for a long time, but we didn't even get to read all the inscriptions. So this is a must when we come back to in the future.

The sun was pretty hot when we came out that we didn't get a chance to walk to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Instead we saw the Washington Memorial, World War II Memorial, the Reflecting Pool which eventually brought us to the Lincoln Memorial. Saw the White House, before catching the metro back to the hotel. Swimming then dinner tonight was of course, at the "best" Mexican Restaurant ever - Chipotle. Alright, this place was good, and cheap :)

Metro back to the city and visited the National Museum of American History. We were there until about 1pm. Got to see Dorothy's red shoes from the movie The Wizard of Oz, Kermit the Frog, lots of costumes, machines, and tons of other stuff. Then next door to the National Museum of Natural History. I think this is better than the last :) We were here till passed 5pm, there were so many interesting animals on display...of course they were either stuffed, or just skeletons left :)

Oh, I couldn't and wouldn't want to do any more museums for a very very looooong time! So the next day, tita Marissa brought us to Tyson's Corner Center. It was nice to just be in the mall for a change :) And in the afternoon we met up with Tata for dinner at Custom Burger, and you know we wouldn't be eating there unless it was the "best" hehehe But it was pretty cool, you got to choose what kind of burger patty you want, the bun type, and toppings. A bit pricey though.

It's so nice to finally just sleep through to 9am :) I like it! We said our goodbyes to tita Marisa and the girls today since they had to go back to South Dakota, a 6 hour drive away. Nice relaxing day today, we did...nothing :)

It was our turn to leave today, caught the Greyhound bus back to New York. It was great to see Talib and Mara (who ran the hostel) again, and even more exciting since the smoothie/juice bar has now opened. Cheap yum yum fruit smoothies!

Finally...I can say I've been up to the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building :) Quite a view, though I wish it wasn't so cloudy. Brought Joel to Grand Central Station, where a lot of films have been filmed, the Rockefeller Plaza to browse around the Lego store, and Nintendo World. And also got Joel to try the hot dog from the street vendors for lunch today. Delicious! Got to Times Square and realised that tonight would be the only night we'll get to watch the Broadway show - Avenue Q. So we snapped up tickets right away (promo price YES!), and just hanged around until it was time to go.

Avenue Q is being shown at the New World Stages. Sooo funny, I LOVED it! Even Joel was laughing and enjoying it :) They actually toured in Australia a while ago now, but didn't get a chance to see it. So if ever it comes to your city, I highly recommend for you guys to see it ;)

Laundry in the morning, then subway all the way to the tip of Manhatten. Then...it rained :( We were stuck waiting undercover at the station for a good 30 minutes hoping it would stop. It didn't...so we took the subway back up to Grand Central and looked around for New York-style pizzas. Found one on Lexington Ave, close to the station called. We bought an 18" pizza. HUGE! I could really only eat 3 slices. The guy's eyes almost popped out when I ordered it hehehe.

We ate it as we walked back down towards Battery Park. Ducking undercover when ever it started to drizzle hard, and having a slice of pizza. Went to the 9/11 Memorial Site Preview, Wall St, then finally a view of the Statue of Liberty from the park. Enough walking for the day, we took the subway back.

Early pick-up for La Guardia airport this morning. Our flight to Chicago was at 9:55am with American Airlines 319. The queue was so long, glad we got here early. The security check was a bit over the top, within 5 minutes we were asked to show our tickets and passports. This was like entering the line, then at the end of the line. As if I can change my identity there!

Took the metro to the hostel - Chicago Getaway Hostel. Quite a big building, looked really nice too. Then we got to the room which was stuffy, and the kitchen was incomplete even if it was a decent size. But free breakfast! It was even close to the beach, mmmhhhmmm the beach! North Ave Beach, it's actually Lake Michigan but there's sand and the water was refreshing, the wind warm :)

It takes 45 minutes to walk to downtown. Overcast today...but it was nice to walk not under the sun. Most of the day was spent walking along Michigan Ave, also known as the Magnificent Mile. Took pictures of some famous buildings - John Hancock Center, Wrigley Building, & Tribune Tower. Did a bit of shopping :) Then went to Millennium Park, before queueing in a line with everyone else for popcorn at Garrett's Popcorn. Crazy I think, it's just popcorn with flavouring, hardly anything healthy yet these people were buying it by the gallon! A lady even spent over $200...talk about over EXAGGERATION! We were there because we had a free coupon hehehe It was like any other popcorn I've ever had, except messier to eat...so it was very silly for a lady to walk out saying "that was so worth it!". I wonder why there's so many obese people here?

Joel wanted to see Wrigley Park (home to the Chicago Cubs) before we left. And afterwards we took the metro to the Greyhound where we caught the bus to South Bend, Indiana. There we met with tita Gaye, one of my mum's close friends in college. I hadn't seen her since 1993 when we moved to Australia!

It was so great for her to invite to stay for the weekend, it was so relaxing. We got to meet her husband tito Florin, & their friends from Chicago. The food, mostly sausages, cheese, bread, & salad, was such a nice change from our usual rice or pasta dishes :) We had BBQs, & swam in the warm warm WARM pool! It was also a good change of pace for us from always being out and about, to just relaxing with food, great people, & the pool.

Joel & I went with tito Florin to the Freshfood Market, before we went to Shipshewana - an Amish Community. It was hard not to stare, the way they dressed, it was like walking into a movie set! Though it was a bit disappointing to see some were using cell phones, & even a whole family arriving in a van. Though, we passed a lot of horse-drawn buggies. And can I just say, they have the BEST ice cream! Hands down the BEST! THE BEST!

Before returning to Chicago, tita Gaye brought us to Notre Dame University. It's a pretty old institution, we got to see the Main Building, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (quite impressive for a school!), & the massive football field home of "The Fighting Irish". Tita Gaye says that South Bend's population grows whenever there is a game on.

We quickly ate lunch, then left for the bus. This time we will only be in Chicago overnight. The first thing we did after checking-in was to go & see Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, then to the Chicago Union Station, & tried the famous Chicago deep pan pizza. Except ours wasn't really even deep pan, it was just thick crust...cheats! Then to Buckingham Fountain, walked across BP Bridge into the gardens & back to the hostel.

Checked out early in the morning & rode the train to the airport. Our flight to San Francisco - American Airlines AA451 - was delayed. We probably sat in the plane for another hour while they fixed the weather monitor on the plane. Slightly bumpy ride, we were going over storms. We sat next to a nice elderly lady named Margaret. She was crocheting during the whole flight, & at the end gave us the pot holder that she made. Said it was our first wedding present. Flight attendant Tom was also great, he'd come & visit to make sure Margaret was doing OK. He was a very funny guy, made our trip enjoyable.

On arrival to San Francisco, we took the shuttle to our hostel - HI - San Francisco-Fisherman's Wharf. It's located on Fort Mason, & has great views of both the Golden Gate Bridge & Alcatraz. Not to mention close to the attractions by the wharf. One thing I wasn't prepared for though, was the overcast, cold, windy weather! Supposedly unique to Bay area...well really, I couldn't care for it :( It was awful, back to jeans & jacket... Though it made exploring the city a lot easier.

It was still very foggy the following morning, we couldn't see the top of the bridge. Went to Ghirardelli Square, surprised the chocolate store was open! We got free samples, which is really the only reason why we went in ;) Good memories here from the first time I came to the US with my family in 2000. Most were because of my grandma hehehe

Looked around the small "museum" along Hyde Street Pier. Where they displayed Petaluma's Sternwheel, & the San Francisco Bay "Ark". Then to the famous, smelly, noisy Pier 39 where a community of Sea Lions made their home. Showing off, posing for photographs :) Around this time though, there aren't as much of them lazing around. Walked to Coit Tower to get a better view of the city, then made our way to get a close up shot of the Transamerica Pyramid. Quite a strange structure. Doesn't look very pretty either.

In the evening, tita Lisa (my dad's cousin) came around to pick us up, along with my cousins Alex, & Danielle, for dinner at an Italian restaurant. At first we could barely hear each other, the group on the next table were super loud! It was a relief when they left, we could eat peacefully :) We drove up the Twin Peaks, the BEST view of the city...except it was super THICK fog! Though I'm sure when it clears up, it would be nice to go up again and see the whole Bay area :)

On our last "full" day in San Francisco, we set out on our EPIC walk. According to Joel's pedometer, we had 42,554 steps! Started at 8:30am and didn't get back until 6:30pm. All that and we only saw 6 attractions, they were all so far apart. The first was walking up & down the hills to see the "Painted Ladies", famous Victorian houses painted in pastel colours. These were shown in the opening credits of the show "Full House". Ok, well it was nothing great... The furthest we walked was to Mission Dolores, founded in 1776. It's both the oldest original intact Mission in California, & the oldest building in San Francisco!

We needed a drink, & faithful McDonald's just happened to be on the way :) HEHEHE Tried their mocha frappe, not bad ;) Close-by is the Golden Gate Park, where we passed the DeYoung Museum, walked around Stow Lake, saw a few bisons in there enclosure (they didn't look to exciting), and the last before exciting the park was the Dutch Windmill. Across the road is Ocean Beach, too cold to even think about going to the beach, even for a picnic.

The trek to the Golden Gate Bridge was a bit of a challenge, kind of...trying to find the right street to get up close to it when you are in the middle of all these Victorian houses, all in their different shades of colours. But when we finally got to the bridge, the fog had disappeared from the tops, and it became blue skies :) Perfect, Joel was really hoping it would be like this :) By the time we arrived back at the hostel, it got foggy again and the wind started to pick up once more.

Caught the trolley to get us to the Greyhound Bus Terminal. It got so packed once we went through Chinatown (no surprise there), that I wanted to get off the next stop & just walk the rest of the way. Not ideal to be catching these sorts of public transportation when you got luggage with you... Drama...arrived at the terminal only to find out that our tickets to Sacramento are in fact for the next day yet! Thankfully I keep receipts, & records to show that I purchased a bunch of tickets at the same time. With the amounts of tickets I had, it was possible that the teller made a mistake, I should have checked it earlier. Good thing I'm also persistent, we were waived the $15 surcharge per ticket to get new ones for today :) It also helped the lady at the desk was understanding :) :) :)

HI - Sacramento, the next hostel we were booked at is in an 1885 Victorian mansion, which has been moved from it's original location 3 times! The latest was in the 90's where it was even turned 180˚, so the front of the house now faces the north. Time to catch up with family again :) We took the train to Folsom where we met up with my cousin Kimi :) We went for a bike ride along America River, & you can really feel the heat here! We ended up at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, Joel was very happy :) Back the other way to Folsom Lake. The hill, the heat, was such a killer! So not fit for this ride hehehe but Kimi was right, once we get to the lake, it would be all worth it :) The water was perfect, cold, but after that hill & the sweat, I needed it :)

Went to lunch with tita Mimi, & Kimi at a Tapas restaurant. Then went window shopping at Arden Fair. Can I just say that the Sunday we spent in Sacramento was the most boring day ever! Everything was closed, the shops, the cafes, and most of all, no McDonalds close-by for my mocha frappe :(

Went out with Kimi for in the morning before we left, walked around the Old Sacramento then checked out of the hostel. The bus was full, & traffic bad on the freeway to Reno. They were doing roadworks, & therefore only had one lane open in the direction we were headed. We were so tired when we arrived...

Staying at tita Christine, & tito Sam's house during our stay in Reno. Anyone who has ever come & visited here knows that the house is never quiet ;) There's always so much food & laughter, stories, & more food :) It's so nice to just be sitting around doing nothing for a change, once in a while we would go out to the shops for grocery. And if we were lucky there's a Ross or Marshalls nearby & do some extra shopping ;)

Finally able to buy new joggers, & active wear, we started jogging every morning at 6am. It's so hard to get up, quite cold in the mornings, but at the end it always feels good to start the day like this :)

Copenhagen - Berlin - Donastia - Bilbo - Madrid - New York - Montreal - Ottawa - Toronto - Niagara Falls

2010-06-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

June 1 - 30, 2010

It was sunny when we left for the train station in the morning. Catching the X2000 train to Copenhagen at 10:25am. Only a 5 hour train ride...ONLY. It was on time, & it was probably one of the nicest trains we've ridden. The seats even reclined better than the planes! I felt a little light headed though, so majority of the time I was trying to sleep. Except for when it was time to gorge on the bag of strawberries & cream lollies we bought :)

As we got closer to Denmark, the weather became horrible. It was gloomy, dark, & raining. Though luckily not as bad as what we've experienced recently in Krakow. By the time we found the right bus stop, our bus was already rolling away. Though we didn't have to wait long since the next one came up shortly. Staying away from the city this time, Hostel Belægningen is about 10km out. I think it's a nice change though, we're surrounded by greenery & not traffic & buildings.

We thought that the next few days will also be rain & just bad weather all together, but I was so excited to see the sun brightly shining that I woke Joel up just to let him know hehehe. Well, if we had known about this we wouldn't have bought the 10-way transport pass, & instead hired the bikes at the hostel.

Out by 8:30am, took bus #1A in front of Avedore Skole to København H (Central Station). Took around 30 minutes, & perfect timing since most places were just starting to open for the day. We checked of course the souvenir stores along Strøget (pedestrian, cafe's/bars/restaurants, shopping street) before arriving at Rundetårn (The Round Tower). It was completed in 1642, & is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe.

They say there's about 13,000 plant species in the Botanisk Have (Botanic Gardens)...I think they're right. We walked through the tropical & subtropical plants in the iron & glass Palmehuset (Palm House). Across the road was another nice garden to walk around - Kongens Have (King's Gardens). This is also where you can visit Rosenborg Slot (Rosenborg Castle), built by King Christian IV as a summer residence. There was even a swan HISSING (yes it was hissing!) at me while I tried to get it's picture with the castle!

I knew that the sculpture of Edvard Eriksen's, Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid) was not going to be there. But as we got nearer to the spot, (where instead they put a TV screen with live footage of the sculpture from the Shanghai World Expo), the more I thought about how stupid it was to send the real thing. Instead they kept it's replica here, but not for people to view for FREE...it was put at Tivoli (a 19th century amusement park) where people now have to PAY the entrance fee just to see it! Can't stand stupid stunts like this...

Across the moat instead to reach Kastellet, an enclosed 17th century fortress, now a park. So many people jogging here, making me wish I was one of them :( Another moat to cross, then short walk to Marmorkirken (The Marble Church). It has Europe's 3rd largest dome, & unfortunately closed until later in the afternoon. Not far from it was Amalienborg Palace where we were able to catch the changing of the guards. There's four huge mansions around the square where the queen & royal family reside during the winter months. Another place we visited was Christiansborg Slot, home of Folketing (Parliament), & the royal reception rooms.

The next day, we decided to hire bikes. Great exercise & a goof way to get to know the streets around Copenhagen. Not sure how long it took us to get into the city, but it was a nice & easy ride :)

We first visited the small town of Christiania, surrounded by a graffiti-covered wall...it´s were the hippies, & wanna-be hippies hang out. Lots of drunks, & illegal drugs being sold on street stalls. No pictures allowed in the town, which is such a shame because it was as if we were walking into a the back lot of Universal Studios. So different from the world outside hehehe Got to visit inside the Marmorkirken, & passed through another park called Ørsteds Parken.

On arrival back to the hostel, I found a note on our door to call Marietta. The number was for Denmark & I didn´t know anyone here so I brought it back to reception. We ended up trying the number anyway, & glad we did :) It turned out to be tia Marietta, my grandpa´s cousin! Long story on how she found me in Copenhagen, but her husband tio Andy & herself picked us up & brought us to Tivoli!

We found Lille Havfrue & of course got pictures with her :) Then to dinner, & was surprised that even at 11Ñ30pm on a school night there were still kids out on rides having a great time! Not only that, it looked like it was only getting to dusk!!!

Super early breakfast, walk to the bus stop to get to the central train station. Our train to Berlin, Germany departed at 7:45am. We got talking to another Danish passenger, around our age. And we were astonished when he told us that the WHOLE train gets on a FERRY to get to Germany!!! When it got on the Scandlines, we all had to get out of the train & sit on the decks for the 45 minute ride. Pretty cool! They had duty free stores on board which is pretty much where everyone was :)

We stayed at BackpackerBerlin, about 45 minutes walk into the city. So yes, you can imagine the exercise we got during our stay ;) Along Karl-Marx-Allee, you´ll see the boulevard lined with buildings designed from the Soviet Union days. Pretty much everywhere in Berlin, including close to our hostel, you will see Fernsehturm (the TV tower). So it was not hard to find our way into the city.

All you have to do is walk along Karl-Liebkrecht-Straße which turns into Unter den Linden. So along the way we took pictures of Berliner Dom, Beblplatz (where around 20,000 books where burned by Nazi students), and finally the Brandonburger Tor. On the other side, you see bricks laid out on the road to mark where the Berlin Wall used to stand.

Another stretch of road, Straße des 17 Juni leads you to Siegessäule, but unfortunately, it was covered with scaffolding so we walked into Tiergarten instead. We actually for to see some animals from the zoo through the fence on our way to Kaiser Wilhelm Church. And WOW, can I just say how surprised I am so see so many Dunkin' Donut stores there are here? It rivals that of the Philippines!

We walked along the East Side Gallery on our way to the sights the next day. There´s some really great artwork there, and I think it gets changed regularly because I didn´t see some of the ones I liked from my 2007 trip. After we checked out Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, & the Galerie Topographie des Terrors.

The Sony Centre was cool, if only the shops were open (Sunday, most are shut except for those tourist sites), then got lost (not really) walking through the Holocaust Memorial. The weather has been so perfect during our stay, & it looks like a lot of festivals are coming up that Joel & myself didn´t want to leave yet! Oh well, another place to add to the list of places to return :)

I´m used to waking up early, so 3am is nothing. Not sure if Joel enjoys this though hehehe We got to Berlin Tegel Airport & waited for our Air Berlin flight AB8792 to Barcelona, Spain. We sat in the plane for about an hour before take-off, not sure why but I fell asleep and didn´t mind.

Took the Aerobus to Plaza Catalunya and walked along Las Ramblas to get to our hostel - Downtown Paraiso Hostel. Walked around the area for a bit including La Boqueria (markets), but didn´t want to go sightseeing just yet :)

The bed was so comfortable, the room was pitch black that I didn't want to get up yet, though somehow my body got going anyway. Good thing too, since it was nice & sunny outside :) Ready to go out, we walked across Plaça de Catalunya & up Passeig de Grácia. A small area along this street is known as la manzana de la discórida (block of discord). Because of the architectural styles of three buildings - Casa Amatller by Puig i Cadafalch; Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí; Casa Milá (La Pedrera) another by Gaudí.

Casa Amatller has a facade that is of Moorish influence, while Casa Batlló has balconies that ripple like water with purple-blue tiles. On the corner of Passeig de Grácia & Carrer de Provençal sits Casa Milá, said to be Gaudí's most refined work. Quite strange to look at, so out of place hehehe. Another Gaudí creation we saw was La Sagrada Familia, unfinished & some say it will never be. We didn't go to Park Güell this time, didn´t want to walk too far knowing that most needed to be seen today before the rain starts. A bit further on is a building that you'll be able to see from the Park, and that's the Agbar Tower. It's noticeable because it looks like a bullet.

Got to the Arc de Triomf, walked through it and then got to Parc de La Ciutadella. I didn't realise that there was a massive fountain feature there - Cascada. I only saw the buildings on the other side of the park. In the afternoon walked to Mirador de Colom, and the port area. One of the best places to walk around and get lost in is the alleys in Barri Gòtic (the Gothic Area).

Even though it was raining the next day, we went out ot join a free walking tour around Barri Gòtic. Waste of time really, the guy talked fast and wasn´t clear at all. I think he was trying to joke around but no-one got it... So by the time we finished checking out Església Catedral de La Santa Creu, Joel & I bailed out. Walked slowly behind the group and walked through the maze of alleys. Such a shame since I really wanted to know more about the history of the area.

Had to get to Barcelona Sants Estació early in the morning for our 7:35am train to Donastia in País Vasco. Fell asleep for the most part of the ride, snacked on our 600g container of sour lollies, and while Joel was asleep I watched a movie in Spanish. When we got to Donastia, I realised that there was no print out of the hostel because I made that booking during our trip already. Managed to get to the tourist office, and get a map with the address. Right in the centre of the city - Hospodaje Donastia@B&B. Nice quiet hostel with only 4 rooms and all are private. Luz and Amalia, were so so so friendly and very informative :)

Breakfast was not until 9am, so it was nice to just be lazy in bed for a change. The weather was a bit so-so but at least it didn't rain. Both beaches that we passed, Kontxako hondartza, & Ondarretaki hondartza, has the nicest, cleanest, widest sands I've ever seen. Seems they clean & comb it every morning. It was quite a surprise that even in this sort of weather, people (mostly the elderly) were out swimming!

Climbed up Monte Igueldo which is always a must when coming here. The views are spectacular right at the top. But we, being budget concious (too much sometimes I think) only climbed as far as we could without having to pay. I don't remember there being a charge last time I came, only if you took the funicular up. But oh well, we got good shots along the zig-zagged road. At the base of this hill, are sculptures called Haizearen Orrazia (The Wind Comb). There was a description there, but I still don't understand it's purpose hehehe Another of these sculptures, but erected recently, is Eraikuntza Hutsa (Empty Construction). This one is at the base of Monte Urgull.

We visited Église Santa Maria in the Old Town, & directly across in the Centre of town (even if it was several streets away) you can see Cathédrale Buen Pastor, where we visited next. Unfortunately it was closed, don't know because they too were having a siesta since it was that time of the day :)

So what else do you do in Donastia? Or in any Euskadi city? You go out for pintxos of course! We had a list of recommendations from Luz, so we tried the first on the list - La Cuchara de San Telmo. I must say when I asked for their best sellers I didn't expect for the guy at the bar to say beef cheeks or fish "chins". Well ummm ok, we ordered those to share & you know what...they weren't so bad! Quite delicious actually :) Then to Ganbara where they are known for their tarts stuffed with onions, carrots, & txangurro (spider crab) Mmm...mmm...mmm! We also tried two other pintxos here, but have no idea what they were. All were good though :)

Enough of that...dessert time!!! And what else could be better than churros con chocolate?!? We found them at Santa Lucia & quite cheap for th amount of churros we got, & the thickness of the chocolate. I'm sooo craving for another right now :(

Too bad we only stayed a couple of days here. Next was to hop on the bus to Bilbo, only over an hour away. First though we climbed up another little hill - Monte Urgull. Shortly after we were on our way...

Caught the Euskotren (tram) to get to our hostel - Hostal Gurea. In the middle of Casco Viejo (Old Town), it couldn't be in a more perfect place. Wish I could say the same about the weather though. It's as if the weather or time stood still since I left it...gloomy, raining, & cold :( Bilbo is officially the most miserable-gloomy-weather-city in the whole Europe, if not the world :(

Even though the weather hadn't changed the next day, we were able to walk around with our umbrellas packed away...though ready for the threatening dark clouds. Because it was Sunday, about 98% of the stores are either closed or won't open until around 3pm. I know for a fact my mum can never live here because of that, though I think my dad will love it hehehe ;)

The furthest we got was Parque de Donña Casilda Iturizar, walked through it then Joel went to admire the architecture of Museo Guggenheim Bilbao. Passed Iglesi de San Nicolás, Iglesia de los Santos Juanes, & Catedral de Santiago. Didn't bother trying to go in, since Sundays they will surely be closed for mass.

If you are in Bilbo around Sundays, then you should check-out Plaza Nueva. It was absolutely buzzing with people! Adults & children alike were gathered in small groups with their checklist of trading cards. I've never seen anything like it! A lot were also huddled around vendors with old coins & banknotes. The bars, the cafes, around the plaza were also overflowing with loud Basques enjoying their Sunday :) Even Joel commented that the people around here are noisy...nahhh they just know how to enjoy life ;)

Day after was even worse :( Didn't get to go to Ibarranguelu, but instead finally found Restorante Zuluaga. Met head chef & owner Alberto Zuluaga. He couldn't speak English, & my Spanish is only enough to get directions & other travel things...not research questions. It was quite funny though because one of the ladies there was giggling at us, we were pretty much hand signaling at each other hehehe

Last train trip in Europe, to Madrid in the morning. It was so nice to just look out the window even if it was dark skies, the green hills, the fog, so so pretty! We got to a train station in the middle of no where...but we were there for AGES waiting for a delayed train to arrive and attach itself to the end of ours. I guess Joel was still sleepy or something; instead of putting his earpiece for his MP3 back into his ear, he put a sour gummy lolly! LOL it was the funniest thing and we were in tears for awhile :D

Anyway, finally got to Madrid Charmartin, took the Metro to get to our hostel which was just south of Puerta del Sol. La Posada de Huertas, the first hostel were we had to be put in separate rooms (single sex rooms only). Joel complained about the stinkiness in the room, while I enjoyed just sharing a small 5 bed room with just one other person :)

Afraid that it would rain during our outing, we brought the umbrellas with us just in case. Luckily we didn't have to use them once :) Walked through Plaza Mayor, which was still very quiet early in the morning, with the shops only starting to open. Looked inside our LAST cathedral - Catederal de La Almudena before a quick peek at Palacio Real.

Walked to a park that had a "donated" Egyptian temple, Templo de Debod. I never believe these so-called "donated" gifts to other countries. So back into the centre of the city through Plaza España, and along Gran Via. I wanted to show Joel the Placio de Comunicaciones, but, like 98% of buildings in Europe at the moment, is covered with scaffolding :(

We were planning to go to Toledo for a day trip, but decided to leave it for another time :) Instead we spent our last full day in Madrid at Parque del Buen Retiro, just sitting by the water and watching the place fill with people. It was also such a nice sunny day, a good change AND good way to end our Europe trip :)

To get to the airport we had to take the train from Atocha to Nuevo Ministerios, & then changed to the metro line. Got to Barajas Airport with more than enough time to spare. The airport was a bit chaotic, apparently you can check your bag in up to 24 hours before your flight. So all desks were open for what ever flight you are taking, just make sure it's the right airline and the lines were pretty long. I thought it was such a mess, but I guess they had it all under control hehehe

To get to New York, we flew with Iberia Airlines IB6251. It was an 8 hour flight, but by the time we get there it would be already 9pm in Spain, yet 4pm in New York! Good flight though, food was yum, & we got to watch a couple of movies - Leap Year, & Extraordinary Measures.

Even though our departure was an hour delayed, we arrived at JFK Airport 30mins earlier than expected. I got through fine at customs & immigration, the guys new how to joke around. Joel wasn't so lucky hehehe but he made it anyway, maybe he looks a bit suspicious :P

So we got the Airtrain to Jamaica Station, then changed to the "E" train for 53rd Street on Lexington Ave, THEN the subway up to 110th St, AND finally we were there...almost. We had to walk about 3 blocks to get to the hostel - The Riviera New York. Now some people would be shocked when I mention that we were staying in East Harlem, but I stayed here last time & I really loved it! And this time was no different, we liked are very homey-filling hostel :) The area we were at is more commonly known as "Spanish Harlem" or "El Barrio".

To get to the city, we have to walk through Central Park, which is great. It's larger than the Monaco, & it doesn't feel like you are in a big busy city! I had to of course stop to check-out FAO Schwartz, Barnes & Nobles, & Build-A-Bear before we got to Times Square. I love Toys R' Us! Across the street to M&M's World, then the Hershey Store...mmmm so delicious!

No signs of jet lag what so ever, we were out early in the morning! Hit Central Park for a stroll taking pictures of squirrels, cascades, & a Father's Day Fun Run. So many people participating.

While Joel went to watch a baseball game at the Yankee Stadium, I got to spend the time "shopping". Actually the only thing I ended up buying was a trolley for my luggage which now runs on its rims :( Then I went back to Central Park to sit in the shade and people watch. There was also a live band playing so I got to listen to some of that before heading back to the hostel.

When we checked-out, we had to take the subway to 51st St, then changed to the "E" train to get to Port Authority on 42nd Ave. This is the main bus stop, & where we will be departing with Greyhound bus for an overnight ride to Montreal, Canada. Got to the station & left our bags at the luggage storeroom.

In the heat, we walked all the was down to the "alphabet" streets to have lunch at The Peanut Butter Shop. Slightly disappointed that nothing we ordered had peanut butter though :(

There were lots of people sitting around Washington Square Park, & we joined the people at Madison Square Park siting down in the shade to cool off. It's funny to watch people around here. Some workers seem to just walk around doing laps of the park, a couple of the ladies I saw were even wearing heels! HOW?!? Then there's the homeless guy on the other bench who seemed to be "cleaning" himself with a brush, I guess some things you just don't need to see...

Back at the Port Authority at night to wait for the bus' departure...no delays here! We left at exactly 12:01am! Sleep (if any) was interrupted at around 2:30am for a scheduled servicing/cleaning of the bus at Albany & we all had to get out. It took about 30 minutes then we were back on board. The next interruption was at the border where we had to take all our belongings off the bus & go through the Canadian customs/immigration. Easy. The bus was checked over & we were able to board the bus.

Finally at Montreal by 8am, & walked to Le Jazz St. Denis. We didn't do much that day, we ate, watched the soccer, walked a little, ate, & bed...

We did more sightseeing the following day when we had more energy :) Got to see Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal, then to the little museum at Banque de Montreal. The small museum had early Canadian currencies, books, & "machines" they used in the bank at the time. Down to Quais du Vieux Port & along Promenade des Quais. Looked around the garden at the house of the first governor, which is called Place de la Douversiere.

The next day looked like it was going to be gloomy. Yet we decided to still go up Parc du Mont Royal. Lots of people jogging up or biking here. After seeing the view, we walked down the other side & went to the port. Climbed up Tour de l'Horloge, & got a good shot of the Biosphere, Musee de l'Environnement across the river. We got to board the ship Europa & look around. It was an old merchant ship from Holland, almost 100 years old! *SIGH* Shops were closed & we were stuck in the city while it rained hard :(

Glad to be leaving Montreal, it was nice but kind of boring. Next was Ottawa, the capital city. Took Greyhound Canada, only a couple of hours away. When we arrived we took the local bus to Rideau Centre, & walked through Marche By to get to the hostel - Ottawa Backpackers Inn.

Looked like another gloomy day, but we couldn't afford to stay in since we were only here for a couple of days. We decided to follow the walking route on the map, also suggested by the girl at reception. It even brought us back to Quebec! The walk took us to Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court of Canada, across Pont du Portage Bridge, Pont Alexandra Bridge to get back to Ontario. In the afternoon when the skies cleared, we did the walk again backwards.

I enjoyed Ottawa, but today we were leaving for Toronto. Again on Greyhound Canada. When we arrived the city was almost like a ghost town, no cars around but a lot of protesters on their bikes, lots of police out...all because of the G20 Summit. We had no trouble walking to our hostel though - HI-Toronto.

Today was a lot more normal, with people going back to work, the city was busier & the fences were being slowly brought down. Across from the hostel was our first stop - St. James Cathedral. We were following the Discovery Walk from a map. Passed St. Lawrence Market which was closed today, then to Union Station. Got pictures of the CN Tower, Campbell House, Osgoode Hall, City Hall, & the Old City Hall. In the afternoon we decided to go up to the CN Tower, thinking since today was nice & sunny it might be the only chance we'll get to do it.

After our visit, it became dark & started to rain heavy...for like 10 seconds then stopped. So we went to Toronto Eaton Centre (mall). It's funny how Joel gets so excited about seeing the mall, he says we have to spend a whole day there. He won't be saying that when I drag him to Westfield in Australia hehehe

The next morning we were lazy and didn't get up till passed 8am...I know most are you are saying that's not late :P But we were able to see St. Lawrence Market...nothing great. EXCEPT for this one stall that had soooooooo many different kinds of cooking gadgets!!! I want I want!!!! We spent forever & a day at the book store. Got to also walk through Chinatown.

This next bus trip was with Coach Canada, going to Niagara Falls. I love it when the hostel is close enough to the bus/train station that we don't have to catch public transport to get there :) So this time we were staying at Backpacker's International Hostel & Inn. We walked to the falls in the afternoon when it was starting to get cooler. It's not as big as what I thought it would be, but still it was impressive :)

Split - Ljubljana - Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna - Prague - Krakow - Warsaw - Vilnius - Riga - Stockholm

2010-05-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

01 - 31 May, 2010

We got up incredibly early (2am) to catch the earliest bus to the airport for our flight. Had to walk to Syntagma Square, & a couple of the restaurants were still open! We were able to get the earlier X95 bus which was great because the line at the check-in desk was ridiculously long! So the first leg of the trip was to fly with Lufthansa LH3393 to Munich, & then the second was a connecting flight to Split. Going to Split it was with Croatia Airlines OU4439 in a propeller plane :)

On arrival to Split, we took the shuttle bus into town which took around 30 minutes, & from there it was a short walk to Hostel Antonio. A lot of the shops were closed already because it was a public holiday. The hostel owner did suggest a place to eat just a few minutes away. Joel & I did takeaway from there & it was the best gnocchi we have EVER tasted! I wasn't into the meat too much, but at least it was soft, & the sauce was OK. The restaurant is called - Buffet "Fife", also very cheap & the serving big!

Slept in a little this morning, but as soon as we were ready we got up to go to the Green Market to buy breakfast. Found a bakery that sold Štap Čocolada - a chocolate filled pastry & still nice & warm! Sooo good, & accompanied it with chocolate milk! Went to the Katedrala or Rimski Mauzolej (The Cathedral or Roman Mausoleum), now according to the guide book it's supposedly the oldest catholic cathedral in the world?!? Afterward, we managed to get a self-walking tour map around the palace. So off we went!

First was a walk through the markets set up in the Basement Halls of Diocletian's Palace. Next was along the Riva & then around Voćni trg & Trg braće Radić to check out the Citadel (Castle). Passed Hramovi (Temples), but none were open so we just kept going. Then to Pjaca (the public square) at Narodni trg. Went out to Vrata od Pisture ("Pistura" Gate) at Poljana Grgura Ninskogi (I didn't see a gate by the way), then close-by was Razvitak Grada - Mletački bedemy (the Development of town - Venetian Bulwarks). Much of this was still intact.

There was a huge statue of I guess Diocletian, but there was no plaques around...he did however had a very shiny big toe. Not sure what sort of luck it brought, but everyone was rubbing it. I for one didn't want to touch it hehehe. Back inside the palace walls, we saw Zlatna vrata (Golden Gate), & Srebrna vrata (Silver Gate)...neither were those colours...I should stop taking things to literally huh?

We rested back at the hostel for awhile before taking a walk along the coast. Took pictures at Sv. Stipan (Sustipan) where so many sail boats were out. Got to U. Ježinac where a group of crazy people decided to go for a swim in the freezing waters!

Another early start (3:30am) to catch the shuttle back to the airport for Zagreb. A shuttle leaves 90 minutes before each Croatian Airlines flight, but they didn't tell anyone that they had changed the schedules, so everyone sat on the bus for about 40 minutes before we left. Luckily everyone was on the same flight, & the check-in counters were fairly quiet. Our flight OU651, was delayed due to fog at Zagreb airport. We finally took off about an hour later, but when we landed it was still do foggy, that you can't even see the other end of the runway.

The airports in Greece, & in Croatia have been the fastest we've gone through. Not sure how thorough in checking passports & documents, because we haven't filled out any sort of Arrival cards since Egypt. Passports are stamped though, so I guess that's good enough for them.

We took another shuttle bus to the main bus station in the city, then walked to Zagreb Željerzničići Kolodvor, which is the main train station. Put our luggage into the lockers before heading out to explore the city. And what a pretty city it is! We only had a handful of hours here so we didn't waste time.

Saw the Gothic designed Sv. Marko (St. Mark's Church). It had colourful roof tiles that depicted the coats of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia, & Slavonia on the left side, while the one for Zagreb was on the right. Walked through Kamenita vrata (Stone Gate) - and yes this one was true to it's name, it was stone - where a lot of women were praying. Through Katedrala marijina Uznesenja (Cathedral of the Assumption), which is actually quite pretty inside. And for the first time I saw somebody actually playing the organ!

Done for the day, we decided to head back to the train station & wait for our train to Ljubljana. It was IC219 & arrived on time. The next stop was Dobova, less then 15 minutes away but already in Slovenia! So the train was here for awhile, since officers were checking passports.

Arrived in Ljubljana in the afternoon, overcast & looks like it had been raining. Walked to Hostel Villa Veselova lovated in an area with embassies & huge old houses. A nice quiet place :)

Breakfast included...YES!!! We absolutely stuffed ourselves silly hehehe Well actually just enough to last us until the afternoon :) Once we got to the pedestrian areas of the old city, it all became so picturesque. Like a town in a story book rather than a capital city. At Prešernov trg, the pink 17th century Frančiškanska cerkev (Franciscan Church) is probably the first thing you'll notice unless you were blind. We went inside for awhile, but couldn't really walk around because there was a mass on. So instead we walked along Zmajski Most (Dragon Bridge) which stretched across Ljubljanica.

Had a browse at the markets in Vodnikov trg, & Pegačarjev trg before seeing Stolnica Sv. Nikolaia (St Nicholas's Cathedral). This one we couldn't go in because it was closed. So we walked uphill to Ljubljanski Grad (Ljubljana Castle). It was so green, the greenest of greens I have ever seen! And so thick too! There actually wasn't much to see at the castle, it seems they were doing a lot of work & most of the places of interest were closed. We saw a canon though...that was probably the most exciting thing there, even the case mates wasn't a WOW factor. Maybe this is the downside of coming in the shoulder season :(

Booo another early start to the day, we're off to Budapest, Hungary now. We took the MV247 train at 6:50am & didn't arrive until 4:15pm. They were doing track work & we even had to transfer to a bus for half an hour, which took us to the next station. At least we had the cabin space to ourselves, not too many people were on the train. The scenery all throughout Slovenia was beautiful, once you got to Hungary though...
There was so much logging going on, & the greenery wasn't as lush.

From the train station, we hopped onto the metro for a short ride to our hostel - Astoria City Hostel. We got upgraded once again to the apartments :) Great location, right smack bang in the centre of everything.

The next day started off fine, we even felt really hot & bothered climbing up Gellert-hegy. But first we visited Zsinagoga (Great Synagogue), which is in fact the largest in Europe & the second in the World! At the back garden is the metal Tree of Life, a Holocaust memorial which sits on a mass grave for the thousands of Jews killed near the end of the war. And each leaf bears the name of a family that perished.

Checked out Nagyvasarcsarnok (Great Market Hall), built in 1897 & has 2 1/2 acres of stalls! Then crossed a green-painted bridge called Szabadsag hid, meaning Freedom Bridge. Treked up Gellert-hegy (Gellert Hill) & had an amazing panorama view of the city. And overlooking this city is Szabadsag Szobor (Liberation Monument). The Citadel is up here too, but we didn't go inside since it was just another museum.

Back down & across to the Castle District, passed Var (Buda Castle)...another museum. And just reached Matyas templom (Matthias Church) just before it started to pour! Thunder & lightning...even if we had our umbrellas we were getting wet. It got pretty strong at one stage that water was just getting into our shoes. Then came hail, though not for long & also just pea-size ones!

Next morning couldn't be any more different. Blue sky & the sun shining :) Just what I like to see! So we didn't waste time, in case the weather decided to change it's mind, we walked fast & straight to Sz. Istvan Bazilika (St. Stephen's Basilica). It was damaged during World War II, & is the city's largest church.

Along the Duna (Danube) to get to Parlament or Parliament. And a nice stroll along Andrassy ut to get to Hosok tere (Heroes' Square). Saw Vajdahunyad vara (another castle) which is now also a museum. This is probably the greenest place I've seen in Hungary, so it was a good change :)

Got up at 4am to pack, have breakfast, shower, & check-out of the hostel...then be on our way to Nepliget where the main bus station is. We rode our first Eurolines bus for the trip, & in about 4 hours we arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia. Got on the trolley bus to get to our hostel - Hostel Vegas which is located in the Old Town.

We finished all the sights in Bratislava even before lunch time. The first thing we saw was Novy Most (New Bridge) which was built by the Communists during the 70s. Then it was a short walk up the hill to Bratislavsky hrad (Bratislava Castle). Again it was closed, but you could walk around the not so groomed gardens.

Down the hill, & across the road was Dom sv. Martina (St. Martin's Cathedral), one of the national historic monuments. At Primacialny palac (Primatial's Palace), we only got to see the courtyard with Fontana sv. Juraja krasli (St. George's Fountain) where he is depicted as a night slaying a 3 headed dragon. Following that, it was a quick trip to Slovenske narodne divadlo (Slovak National Theatre), and then to Modry kostolik (Kostol sv. Alzbety) or the Blue Church (St. Elizabeth's Church). Finished the day at the city's only remaining medieval gateway Michalska brana (St. Michael's Gate). We've been lucky with the weather here, since it's been forecast to rain :)

I don't know what it is, but the night before we have an early morning travel, we just can't get a proper night's sleep. Though it might just be the fact I'm paranoid about missing the alarm ring, sleep through it & will be late or totally miss out transportation. As if I would though, the phone is right on my ear, I'm practically sleeping on it!

*SIGH* Got on the tram to the main bus station & waited for the bus to Vienna. It was such a quick ride! Within 20 minutes we were already in Austria but Slovakia still on the other side of the Danube. The bus was packed, & most got off at an Austrian airport. Another tram, & a good 15 minutes walk, we arrived at Wombat's City Hostel - The Base.

No schnitzel today, instead we went in search of those sausage stands. Got a hot dog mit kasekrainer from Wurstel Express. What it is, is simply a sausage with cheese inside, then put into a hot dog bun with your regular mustard & tomato sauce. Mmmm oh so good! But I'm sure that it is bad bad BAD for the arteries. By the time we got back to the hostel, it started to pour for a good 30 minutes or so. I haven't seen that much rain in awhile...

One of the guys in our room was from Romania, couldn't really speak English well so most of our conversations included waving our arms around wildly trying to understand each other. He was successful in letting us know that it was his birthday too. The other guys were from Serbia, & Russia, but we didn't see them much.

Glad to walk out with the sun shining through those clouds :) It makes the sights much more picture worthy. It probably takes us about 30 minutes to walk into town from our hostel. A quick stroll through the well-trimmed gardens of Maria-Theresien-Platz to start off, then to check out the Hofburg Palace. Full of museums, & a library...so obviously we stayed clear from it! When you walk through one of the arches of the palace, you get to Michaelerplatz. They have a section in the middle of the square that is protecting an archaeological site. Part of it is from the foundations of the palace, another I think was a theatre, & the others that you could clearly make out was rented houses.

Stephansdom is quite a site, even if there was scaffolding covering the front facade, & one of the towers on the right. Inside was just as pretty, at least there was no work going on in there. Mozart lived at a house in an alley just behind the cathedral, & of course, is now also a museum.

Hoher Markt doesn't have much to show except for the 1914 Jugendstil Ankeruhr (clock), & a few minutes away Stadttempel. It's the only synogogue in Vienna to escape Kristaunacht. Across town to Karlskirche, were we sat around the pond & soaked in the sun...and watched the people eat their schnitzel burgers, even our eyes were drooling! Another place that made us hungry was walking the whole length of Naschmarkt, with it's fresh food stalls, & little cafes.

Overcast :( We brought our umbrellas just in case. This time the 30 minutes walk was the other direction to Schloss Shunbrunn. Even though we didn't enter the palace, we got to stroll around the gardens. Probably still the best gardens I've ever seen. Everything is so well kept! Lots of monuments, ponds, fountains, trees, green green grass, & weird but cool looking ducks...oh and SQUIRREL!!!

Walked all the way into town to look for that column/monument commemorating the end of the plague. I couldn't find it last time, & we couldn't find this time. There's no plaque, but I did take a picture of one that was close enough, & the only one I see near Petersplatz, so hopefully that was it...And last but not least was Am Hof, where it was once used for jousting...today it's a square mostly used as a car park. On our way back, my legs felt like they were going to fall off...

Another tram to get us to Wien Meidling to catch the train to Prague. So many people were there, mostly university students, already drinking the morning away in preparation of some big festival somewhere. Glad they weren't in our train, otherwise we'll all be sitting on each others lap. We were in Prague by about 2:30pm, & walked to Hostel Elf. He couldn't find my booking...because some ass forgot to put it in, but it was showing in their Hostelbookers.com account. Well it was was awhile until we got to check in, because I wouldn't budge in getting another type of room or changing rooms every night, nor could he be bothered to find me another hostel with the same price & close to the train station. He finally gave in & couldn't care less that he was getting flustered, wasn't my fault they're so stupid. But somehow, he was able to find us 2 beds in the dorm I want for all 3 nights, EVEN if he says they were fully booked.

The people who were in our room made up for it though, 4 from USA, & a Brazilian girl. We were up till almost 2am just talking & laughing. All had such a good sleep...even I didn't wake-up until 8am. Yes to some of you that may sound ridiculously early anyway, but my body clock usually gets wakes me at 5:30am. And today, it was drizzling :(

Still had to get out anyway...what if the next day was worse? It was cold cold cold :( So we did brief visits to the sights, enough to just say this is this, take a picture, & move on to the next. In this short trip we saw the Powder Gate (which cars drive through), Panna Marie pred Tynem (Tyn Church), the Astronomical Clock, Karlov Most (Charles Bridge), walked along the river Vltava up to Tanc ici dum (Dancing House)...then back to the hostel. That whole time we were out, it didn't stop raining :(

We had a glimpse of sunlight the next morning, but it soon hid behind the dark grey clouds again. But at least we didn't need to use our umbrella. Crossed the Karluv most & up the hill to Prazsky hrad (Prague Castle). Didn't do much, just walked through the grounds. The lines were just too long to enter anything, even if the apartments were free we weren't in the mood to wait.

Joined a free walking tour on the last day. Our guide was Justin, quite a know-it-all & hyper active guy...that or he just wanted to keep warm. But he took us around for about 3 & half hours. Justin was able to summarize all of Czech Republic's history in roughly 10 minutes, quite impressive for a country that has gone through so much! It was a good tour, & I would recommend anyone to go along if ever in Prague. At least now we got to hear the stories behind each of the sights we saw during our walks the passed few days, & even places that aren't in guide books.

It was a long wait that night, since we had an overnight train to Krakow, Poland. Glad it wasn't raining when we had to walk back to the train station. We stood eyes glued to the departure board with all the other passengers waiting for a platform to come up for our train. When I purchased the ticket, I was hoping I made it clear enough that we wanted a 2-bed cabin...I guess next time I should learn how to say it in Czech. Though it didn't turn out as bad as I thought...who needs proper sleep anyway right? No, we had a little compartment, smaller than the ones in China, & it had 6 beds, 3 on each side. And I just had to be the one right on the top, right? I couldn't sit down, because my head was hitting the roof, & I couldn't stretch out because the luggage were at my feet (there was no room anywhere else). It did turn out to be like a miniature hostel dorm though, shared with another young couple from Krakow, & a Norwegian girl, so it was ok :)

Arrived early morning in Krakow, with the rain pouring down to greet us. We tried using garbage bags which I took from the hostel in Budapest to cover our luggage...it was too small, so used in for the backpacks instead. Fifteen minutes walking, trying to balance a map, directions, umbrella in one hand, pulling the luggage on the other, & watching out for crazy drivers who like to drive right by the kurb & splash dirty water all over the next unattentive pedestrian. Arrived at Orange Hostel, left our luggage in the storeroom went walking back in the rain to the mall.

Yes you heard that right, the mall - Galeria Krakowska. Didn't want to do any sightseeing in the rain today, so we walked around all 3 floors, reptile exhibitions, & other stores worth checking out. But spent most of the time back at the hostel staying dry :)

Even if the weather wasn't going to cooperate the next day, we decided to go to Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka (Wieliczka Salt Mine). This wasn't our first choice, but the sights at Auschwitz-Birkenau were closed until further noticed due to flood warnings. It took awhile to find the stupid bus because the lady at reception pointed us out to the wrong stop. So finally found the right stop & waited waited for #304. Arrived the salt mine & again...waited waited for an hour for the English tour to begin. It was a tour that lasted about 3 hours or so. And by the way, I wasn't going to pay for another ticket just to take pictures...are you kidding me?!? I still took anyway, just stayed behind the group.

Ok long boring story cut short...don't go to the salt mines. Not worth the money or effort to get out there. Not much to see really...yes there were a FEW cool sculptures, but all you need to see is one & you've seen them all. The tour guide was too quiet & quite frankly boring as a door knob. Then in the rain, we....waited...at the bus stop forever (no exageration there) for the bus back. All I can say is it's a good thing we didn't pay for it (I mean of course there's payment, but the bus driver never asks).

Next day was slightly better, we headed out early when it was not drizzling too hard. We were able to walk for 10 minutes without the umbrella, quite impressive huh? Walked up to Zamek Wawelski (Wawel Castle), I'm sure it ha great views when the weather isn't shit. And you know what, we WAITED 20 minutes to get into Katedra Wawlska (Wawel Cathedral), and would you believe our luck that mass will be on until 12noon & no visitors allowed? It seems that all we have been doing in Poland is wait, nothing has come out of these. Because all I think so far is...booooring...

After our descend from the castle hill, we proceeded towards the main square where there were markets. Ok maybe on weekends only? Because there was such a poor amount opened. And of course one of the sights to see - Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) - is covered in scaffolding! It's the place that is supposed to house all those hawkers with souvenirs & galleries of Polish art.

On one corner of the square is Kosciol Mariacki (St. Mary's Church). Every hour on the hour, there's a trumpet call that cuts off abruptly to recall the near-destruction of Krakow in 1241. This was when the Tatars were invading, they shot down the trumpeter with an arrow as he attempted to warn the city.

A short stroll down one of the little streets brings you to the 3rd oldest university in Europe - Uniwersytet Jagiellonski. At it's Collegium Maius is where astronomer Mikolaj Kopernik, better known as Copernicus once studied. At another street off the square you get to a gate called Brama Florianska, & beyond that, Barbakan. It was the most importantelement in the system of defense walls around the city. At the height of its importance, it was surrounded by a 6m deep & sometimes 26m wide moat!

Now, all along I thought the bagel was just another American thing, until one of the guys in the hostel in Prague told us it was actually a Jewish thing. Come to Krakow, & according to legend a Jewish baker in Vienna concocted the first bagel in 1683 as a gift to a Polish king Jan Sobieski to thank him for routing the Turkish invaders. And according to historical records, the bagel first appears in Krakow in 1610! SOOO of course I just had to have a bagel :)

Glad it wasn't raining when we walked back to the train station to catch our train to Warsaw. It was the EC3510, departing at 10:15am, but was actually a tad late in leaving. Got to the countryside of Poland which we had not seen yet, but I was really falling asleep. Saw rain, dark clouds, & finally, some sunlight...all the way to Warsaw. So hot on arrival that I had to take of my jacket :) The hostel was a 15 minute walk, named Nathan's Villa Hostel Warsaw, & thank goodness we were able to check in straight away.

Didn't get much time to look at the sights, since it was already late in the afternoon. We just beelined for the supermarket & stocked up for lunch/dinner. It was hard to get to sleep since everytime you make the slightest movement, the bed creaks & probably wake everyone up. But it was worse in the morning when a guy left early & dropped his keys twice on the wooden floor, & kept coming in & out of the room...*SIGH* the perks of staying at a hostel dorm room :) HE - HE - HE

It was nice to see that the sun was out in full force. We walked our legs right off! The furthest they took us was at Umschlagplatz, a monument marking the spot where around 300,000 Jews were loaded on cattle wagons bound for Treblinka. Along the same road, but on the opposite side of the intersection is another monument to remember the victims of Soviet aggression & all those deported to the wastes of Siberia. And just passed the Sad Najwyzszy (Supreme Court) is yet another monument - Pomnik Powstania Warszawskiego (Monument to the Warsaw Uprising). It depicts a group of insurgents in battle, & another faction retreating into the sewers.

Leading to the Barbakan, is a little street called ul.Freta, & in house number 16 is where Nobel prize winning physicist & chemist Maria Sklodowska was born (better known as Marie Curie). Much of Stare Miasto was destroyed during the war, so what you see today is just the reconstruction. Only the use of paintings & drawings were used as the blueprints to rebuild this town.

In the middle of Rynek Starego Miasta (Old Town Square) is one of 3 Warszawa Syrenka (Warsaw Mermaid) you will find in the city. According to legend, a greedy merchant kidnapped the mermaid from Wisla River, but local fishermen came to her rescue. In return, she swore to defend the city, & is depicted as holding a shield & a raised sword.

Another gorgeous day in Warsaw :) Walked down to Lazienki Park. There's a long lake, several palaces, a fake ruin of an amphitheatre, greenhouses, & a flock of peacocks strolling around. The only palace we visited was Palac na Wodzie (Palace on Water). Sat on one of the benches for a quick rest & to enjoy the heat.

I wanted to see Synagoga Nozykow (Nozyk Synogogue), but it proved hard to find! Or at least both different maps I had marked it wrong! Instead we went to see 2 parts of the Jewish Ghetto walls that were left standing. One was in the courtyard of ul. Zlota 62, & another at ul. Sienna 55. Three bricks from the first one have been taken out to display at museums in Melbourne (Australia in case any of you were wondering), another in Houston (USA), & the other to Jerusalem (Israel). On the other wall, one was taken out for a museum in Washington DC (USA). We also walked through ul. Prozna which is the only street of the Jewish neighbourhood that survived. You can even see the bullet marks, & there are large photographs of Jewish people from the windows.

It was a bit of a nightmare the next morning, when we got up at 2:15am to get ready for our bus to Vilnius, Lithuania. We walked about 20 minutes to Warszawa Centralna (the main train staion), waited for the night bus to take us to Warszawa Zachodnia, about 30 minutes away. When we arrived, we had another 30 minutes or so to spare. It was good timing when we got to the stand there because it started to rain...cold...windy... Come 4am our bus hadn't arrived...4:30...nothing.

Finally at 5am the station opened it's doors, but nodbody at the counters until 5:30am. The lady wasn't helpful...not even to the Polish lady who eventually helped out. It was already 6am & we know for sure that the bus will not be arriving. Because everyone she had asked had no idea about it, mostly because it's not the same bus company as the one based at the station. There wasn't even a Eurolines stand in there. To make things worse, the reservations number on our ticket was closed on Sundays :( Luckily however, this amazing lady drove us back to the train station where we ended up purchasing a ticket for the train instead. Already wasted 4 hours of our morning, we were finally able to board the D10011 bound for Vilnius (even though it was going to be another 10 hours till we got there).

Around 12:30pm, we arrived at a station called Sowalki, where the train carriages were split & the last 3 continued on the journey. Now we would not have known to go to the back carriages if the ticket officer didn't inform us a couple of hours ahead. Then at 2:50pm, we arrived at what I'm assuming is the border between Poland & Lithuania - Sestokai. Here, we had to change trains, luckily it was just on the opposite side of the platform. And in a few hours time we arrived tired, lethargic, & bothered in Vilnius.

Luckily there was no more need for any more form of transportation to get to our hostel - Old Town Hostel. Only 300m to walk & we could finally just relax :)

Pretty much saw everything in one day. Just down the road is the 16th century Ausros Vartai (Gates of Dawn) which we walked through & got to the Senamiestis (Old Town). Close by is Sv. Dvasios baznycia (Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit) which is the seat of Lithuania's Russian Orthodox Bishop. East Europe's oldest university is also within the Senamiestis, but unfortunately we couldn't enter the courtyard since classes were on. Founded in 1579, & called Vilniaus Universitetas. I find it funny that everywhere, no matter where you are in the world, the word for university is similar :)

We got to Arkikatedros aikste (Cathedral Square), where you wouldn't believe it, the Arkikatedra bazilica (The Cathedral) is situated ;) Who would have guest right??? But it looked more like their version of the White House than a cathedral. But it's huge inside, & there's also the ornate Sv. Kazimiero koplycia (Chapel of St. Casimir) tucked away in the corner.

We didn't go to see the Choraline synagoga (The Choral Synagogue) until the next day. Also tried going to the Museum of Genocide Victims, which unfortunately was closed :( How unlucky that it was closed both days that we could roam around the city. Even MORE unlucky when it started to rain & we had to walk back to the hostel through it :( In the afternoon though, we managed to make it up to Aukstutine (Gedimino) pilis (The Upper Castle).

Joel's birthday :) Walked so fast to the bus station because the grey clouds were threatening to drop buckets any minute. Quickly went to the supermarket to spend the rest of our Lithuanian loose change, the closest I could get to a cake/cupcake was a poppyseed scroll that was iced with chocolate. Each piece was big & tasted quite good ;)

Luckily the bus arrived on time & we were allowed on board. The other Australian couple from Tasmania though weren't so lucky :( They had booked their tickets online about 6 months ahead & weren't contacted when the timetable changed. Their tickets showed 9:30am, but we were scheduled to depart at 10am. Because of this, the driver would not let them on. They went instead to the Eurolines office with the driver, but even when we finally drove off, they weren't on board.

It was a good day to travel because it wasn't all sunshine outside, it was gloomy & wet. Though that wasn't the story when we finally arrived in Riga, Latvia around 3pm :) Our hostel was a short distance away from the bus station so we had no problems finding it - Riga Hostel.

Since it was so sunny outside, & there was no clouds in sight, I wanted to go out & take pictures in case the next day was going to be raining. On the map, it looked as though Riga was big, but we found out soon after starting our walk that everything was just a few steps away ;) So in that afternoon, we checked out the Latviesu Strlnieku Laukums (Latvian Riflemen Monument) which is one of only a few Soviet monuments not torn down. The monument honors Lenin's bodyguards. Just beyond that is the recently rebuilt Melngalvju (House of the Blackheads), named so because during the 17th century the Blackheads' union became the only inhabitants of the building. Sv. Petera baznica (St. Peter's Church) was first built in the 13th century. However the tower was not built until the 17th century. It's tower has a viewing platform which can be reached by an elevator! Doma laukums (Dome Square) is quite big, it got it's name from the Doma baznica (Cathedral Church of Riga). Inside (which we missed out on) is a gigantic church organ with 6,767 pipes, the 4th largest organ in the world! I would have wanted to see that, but you would have to buy tickets to watch an orchestra play at night in one of their concerts...can't be bothered.

Found a book at the hostel's common room that had a walking tour you could follow, & it had the background of the attractions you pass. So I took it around with us as we explored more of Riga :) To start off, we went to Livu laukums (Livu Square) which is surrounded by cafes/restaurants/bars & is quite a popular meeting place among the locals. Across the road & over the bridge is "Milda" the nickname for Brivibas piemineklis (Freedom Monument), flanked by two guards at it's base. If you retrace your steps back a few metres & take a right, you arrive at a small park with the Bastejalns (Bastion Hill) which is where you find the remaining defense structure of Old Riga. Around the park, there are memorial stones where five people were killed by the Soviets during the 1991 communist suppression.

Got to Rigas pils (Riga Castle) close to the Daugava river. It was nothing exciting, it's the president's official office & is also home to three museums. It did have a couple of guards marching back & forth at the front... Tris brali (The Three Brothers) are the oldest stone residential buildings in the city, over 500 years old! Jakaba katedrale (Saint Jacob's Church) is Old Riga's Catholic cathedral from the 13th century, & the Saeima (Parliament) across the street was nothing great.

Around the corner is Zviedru varti (The Swedish Gate), & a reconstruction of Vecpilsetas muris (The Old City Wall). The wall is supposedly the oldest remaining part of Old Riga's fortifications, but it didn't look old at all...Down the street is Pulvertornis (The Powder Tower), kinda cool because it has green vines growing on it's brick walls, & you can also see two cannonballs stuck from when the Russians were attacking the Swedes.

At the Tourist Information office, I found another map with walking tours. Mostly around Art Nouveau structures. Alberta Street, & Elizabetes Street has most of these buildings. The walk also brought us back through most of the places we saw yesterday, & it had extra information which the book didn't have.

Since we arrived in Riga, I have been cooking some meals I miss from home so I asked mum to send me a few of these recipes. Now, Joel & I are so full, & stuffed that I'm sure we won't starve in expensive countries that we are about to hit. I think we'll be able to stick to crackers & tuna for awhile hehehe.

It's nice when we you don't have to rush early in the morning to get to the airport :) After breakfast we were able to go to the shopping centre & exchange currencies, & anything left over is easily spent at the supermarket...lollies...3 bags of it! Joel & I spend wisely you see, we won't eat these all at once, no, instead it will be split up between the next plane & train travels ;) I mean, we'll TRY to make it last that long hehehe

Lidosta Riga International Airport is about 20-30 minutes away from the city & is quite small. Flew with AirBaltic B105, only 50 minutes (I bet a chunk of that is taxing on the runways) to get to Stockholm, Sweden. Really excited, because we've heard lots of good things about it, though we were warned about the prices. Which is why I decided not to go to Finland & Norway too, Sweden out of the 3 had the "cheapest" hostels. On arrival it was a 40 minutes bus ride to the central station, & then 10 minutes on the tunnelbana (subway) to our stop.

Now at Skanstulls Vandrarhem...thank goodness there's no stairs! Walking distance to cafes/bars/restaurants (we probably won't be able to afford the water there, let alone a side dish of fries), supermarket (our BESTFRIEND!), & the sights are a bit of a walk but a pleasant one :)

The next couple of days were beautiful! Sun was out, warm enough that I could be in shorts & spaghetti-strap shirts (I still brought my jacket along though, JUST INCASE)! Even if we wanted to go inside the museums, we had to hold back because it was expensive & exchanging money here meant having to give up a big chunk just for commissions :( I also wanted to hold off on pasta & rice for a bit...but they have FREE pasta & rice at the hostel, & you know you CAN'T go passed FREEBIES especially in an expensive city. So there, we were stuck with more pasta & more rice with just having to buy the sauce or flavours to add to the blandness of it all. Though really, we shouldn't complain, that's less spending for food!

Since we didn't go into any museums we just walked passed the places mentioned in the guide books, or maps. Stockholm, if you didn't know is partly made up of 14 islands. And one of these islands is Gamla Stan (Old Town). The street of Våsterlånggatan is the main thouroughfare for the tourists with souvenir stores, cafes lining both sides. Joel & I probably checked every single one of those souvenir stores looking for the cheapest postcards & patches...all were the same price...too much.

Luckily it doesn't cost anything to view buildings from the outside. And the first we saw was Kungliga Slottet (The Royal Palace). Not only is it the winter residence of the Swedish Royal family, but it also houses 4 museums within itäs walls. One of the little alleys we passed along the way was Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, I took a picture of it because it was so cute & narrow. I didn't realise that it's actually the narrowest street in the city only 90cm wide! Stortorget (Main Square) has been the meeting point since the Middle Ages. It's also the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath, where in November 1520, 80 noblemen & Stockholm citizens were beheaded.

Crossed Centralbron, one of the bridges to the city area & get a close up shot of Stadshuset (Town Hall). Completed in 1923 & it's Blue Hall is the venue for the annual Nobel Prize festivities. We also read that 8 million bricks were used for the building! There's a nice small garden at the back along the river Riddarfjärden where we sat on the steps with everyone to enjoy the sunshine :)

Another pedestrian/shopping street we found in the city was Drottninggaten, which also crossed over back to Gamla Stan. You can't miss Riksdagshuset (The Parliament Building) since you walk trough it's arches to get back to Kungliga Slottet. It's also worth checking out the inside of Storkykran (The Cathedral of Stockholm), one because it's FREE, & two because it is 700+ years old! There's a cool organ, & a sculpture of St George & the Dragon which was done by Bernt Notke in 1489.

If you want to spend the day just walking around, Djurgärden is the place to go. It used to be the royal hunting ground, a natural park right in the city. Only a few buildings & they say only around 800 people live here (still a lot though right?). Two of the museums we really wanted to go to were here - Vasamuseet, & Skansen. Why? Well, Vasamuseet because is has the 1628 warship "Vasa" on display. About 95% of it intact after renovation. It capsized on it's maiden voyage in the Stockholm harbour in 1628. Then Skansen - it's the world's first open-air museum. Opened in 1891 to show today's society how people onced lived. There are houses, farm buildings brought in from all over Sweden. There's also a bear pit, wolves, & farm animals.

So it looks like Sweden is on the "To come back" list. A list that will probably stay hidden in a box until we become millionaires...But for now, we're happy to sit back & let other people spend their money here :)

Rome - Cairo - Dahab - Sharm El Sheikh - Athens - Mykonos - Paros - Naxos - Santorini

2010-04-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

01 - 30 April, 2010

Not sure why, but I'm feeling absolutely crap today. Real lethargic, & so we walked real slow today. Didn't get to do much, but at least the sun was out and it was nice to sit out on the Piazza di Spagna. Where for awhile a group of Spanish guys (looks like a school group) were entertaining the crowd with songs & dances, before the police stopped them. The crown of course "booed" them for that.

Felt better the next day though, & thank goodness for that, because we were flying to Cairo, Egypt! We took the express train to Terminal 3, flew with Egyptair MS792. I was quite surprised that there were a lot of tourists, because the last time I flew to Egypt it was mostly Egyptians. Our flight of course was delayed, but it was only a quick ride anyway.

We had our pick-up waiting for us to take us to Hostel Brothers. Street we're on is very busy! Pretty much the main shopping street in Cairo - Talaart Harb St. But since the hostel is on the 4th floor, it was pretty quite.

The Egyptian Museum was walking distance, so we started of in the morning & spent practically the whole day there. Just like the Louvre in Paris, we checked out every single floor & exhibition in the museum including the Royal Mummy Hall. It's a shame we can't take cameras in here, I would be able to finish a whole 4GB card here, & that's no exaggeration ;)

From day 1 in Cairo, Summer, one of the girls working at the hostel introduced us to Felfela. They have the most amazing chicken shawerma ever! Actually everything we have tried here has been great & the prices are cheap as too.

Finally a day out to the pyramids with our driver & guide Khaled. The guy likes to talk a lot, even if we didn't understand half of what he was saying, we just kept smiling & nodding, very entertaining guy :)

He first took us to Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid of Djoser. The prototype for the pyramids in Giza, & all that followed. Built for 3rd Dynasty King Djoser by his architect & high priest Imhotep in the 27th century BC. Khaled explained the reliefs inside the Tomb of Mereruka, who was the son-in-law of Teti. There's a marsh scene inside with Mereruka hunting among birds, fish, & hippos. Then went inside the Pyramid of Teti (1st king of the 6th Dynasty), it contains the king's well-preserved giant basalt sarcophagus. And the ceiling of the chamber is decorated with stars, & walls inscribed with sections of Pyramid texts. From the outside the pyramid just looks like a mound of stones, so I was surprised when Khaled said it was a pyramid!

We drove passed Memphis on the way to Dahshur. The two Old Kingdom pyramids here were constructed by 4th Dynasty King Snefery (26132589BC) father of Khufu the builder of the Great Pyramid. Here, the Bent Pyramid is considered to by Egypt's first proper pyramid because until this time, pyramids were stepped. King Snefery wasn't happy with this pyramid, & on the 13th year of his reign, he began construction of the northern Red Pyramid. There are two smaller pyramids in the area, but they are badly dilapidated.

Then off to the Giza Plateau. We were able to walk around the pyramids here at our own leisure which was nice for a change. Circled both the Great Pyramid, & the Pyramid of Khafre. And headed down to Khafre's Valley Temple, & the Sphinx. The area also had the boat pits, the queen's pyramids, a number of mastabas, as well as the Pyramid of Menkaure.

When we got back to Cairo, it was time to rest before leaving for our overnight bus to Dahab. We rode with East Delta Lines on the 12:15am bus. Much better than the overnight bus to Edinburgh, only annoying thing was the Arabic music playing the whole trip. There were numerous check points where we had to stop and have our passports & tickets checked. But finally arrived in Dahab at around 9am. Our pick-up wasn't there so we had to barter for a taxi to take us there instead, wasn't long, only about 5 minutes drive away.

Luckily we were already able to check-in at Octopus Garden Resort & even get breakfast. Afterward a quick walk about the area, & off to bed to catch up on a bit of rest. In the afternoon we went for a swim at the resort's pool & also sunbathe. Felt so good to be under the sun again :)

It was like this pretty much the whole stay. Just nice to relax for a change, we've been on the go pretty much since December. The restaurants we were eating at were all by the water, & you can see Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea. It was all cheap & very good food. Some were even offering free starters, desserts, & shisha. Of course we took advantage of that, but always regret after when my stomach is so full...I guess our stomachs have shrunk & aren't used to eating this much anymore.

One of those mornings was spent at the Blue Hole, a popular snorkeling & dive spot. But it was so windy & cold that I only lasted around 10 minutes in the water. I really couldn't stand it anymore. Didn't see as much colours this time around, & there was so much more people so I think even if the water was nice I would not have enjoyed it.

Another bus trip with East Delta Lines around lunch time to Sharm El Sheikh, a quick one only about 2 hrs. Checked-in at Oonas Dive Club Hotel, good location just by the beach & away from all the shops & busy areas. Everything is a lot more expensive here because more Europeans come here for their getaways.

It was the same story here, just relaxing & doing nothing but eating :) Though this time we were swimming at the beach, the water was so clear & beautiful, not to mention the amount of fish that were around the shallow areas. It was better than snorkeling, lots more to see & all free!

On the last night both Joel, & I got sick. But we were able to keep the room until we left at midnight. We used this time to just sleep all day, hoping to get better by the time we get on the bus. East Delta Lines again at 12 midnight to go back to Cairo. We arrived early in the morning, but again were lucky to already be able to check-in. Only spent the night here, so we made sure to get our fill of chicken shawerma for one last time before flying out :)

Left early the next morning for our flight to Athens, Greece. Exchanged our unspent Egyptian Pounds into Euros, & anything left was used to buy junk food...ie. Burger King's onion rings :) Again with Egyptair, flight MS747 & landed at around lunch time.

We took the metro to Monastiraki. At first there was so much room in the carriages, & as we got closer to the city centre, it filled up until we were so squashed in there I was bathing in other people's bad odour...real nasty stuff, but they cleared out at Syndagma which is where the Parliament House is.

Able to recognise the area almost straight away, it all looks the same & our hostel is pretty much just around the corner - AthenStyle. We checked-out the flea markets before I introduced Joel to Savva's chicken souvlaki...mmm mmm still filling & same great taste as before, only 20c more expensive hehehe.

Got up early in the morning, & after breakfast headed to Ancient Agora. It's best to buy the EUR12.00 ticket which gets you into the Acropolis & all the other archeaological sites. Ancient Agora had a huge area to explore, & I don't even think we got to see all of it. We got caught up taking pictures of flowers & weird insects. It was the city's marketplace, administrative center & hub of daily life during the 6th century BC to the 6th century AD. There's also the Stoa of Attalos which has been converted into the Agora Museum. Housing relics from the site.

Then climbed up to the Acropolis, passing Odeon of Herodus Atticus (a theatre which has been restored & is still in use today). When we reached the top, there were so many people just sitting on the steps blocking the way which was really irritating. Same as in 2007, cranes & scaffolding ruin the site. An ongoing process to "preserve" the buildings.

Afterwards we headed down to Keramikos, a cemetery built around the Sacred Way (which is the oldest road in Athens). We saw quite a few tortoises wondering around here, a bit strange, but not as strange as the one I saw on top of a hill hiding in the bushes! They seem to be content just eating the flowers :)

The next day we continued checking out the archaeological sites. First was Hadrian's Library, the Roman, the Roman Forum, Hadrian's Arch & finally my favourite...the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It's the only one that only huge structure I've seen in Greece that doesn't have scaffolding or cranes ruining it :)

Walked up the Hill of The Musses (Filopappou)...on the way up we passed The Prison of Socrates. Supposedly he was held here before he was killed. During the war this "prison" cut into the rock, was used to store all the artifacts from the Archaeological Museum, they sealed it up with a concrete wall placed against the entrance.

I had lack of sleep the night before departing for Mykonos. I kept waking up thinking that we've missed the alarm we set. It happens all the time if we leave early in the morning, & today we were getting picked-up at 6:30am. It was a good thing that we got downstairs at reception early because the driver arrived 30 minutes ahead, & the guy at reception didn't have a clue what he wanted. The only reason I knew was because he was carrying an envelope with our names & the ferry tickets!

We waited at Pireaus Port for about an hour before we were allowed to board. It was Aegean Speed Lines: Speedrunner 3. Stopped Syros, & Tinos before finally arriving at Mykonos around 11am. A representative for the company was waiting for us with the details of our accommodation, & the transfer to the hotel. Stayed at Hermes Mykonos Hotel. Right on the side of the hill, facing Mykonos Town & the sea. It was such a pretty place, with the best views! Joel made me take sunset pictures every night!

The breakfast was great - BUFFET!!! Our stomach satisfied, we went for a long walk reaching almost opposite Agios Georgios. It was nice & sunny today with not a cloud in the sky :) Afterwards we ventured into the labyrinth alleys in town before trying our first mousakka & spicy meatballs in tomato sauce.

The next day we did the same - breakfast, then walk. But this time the opposite direction, & more challenging as there were more hills. We passed the New Port, Agios Stefanos, & up to Agios Sostis before heading back.

On both days, we went into the pool (freezing water) just to say we used it, & then sunbathed. It was good to just kick back & relax again :)

Goodbye Mykonos, for now we are off to Paros. Boarded on Seajet 2 at 10am, it was only a short ride, just under an hour. :) Instead of staying at the main city in Paros called Parika, our accommodation was in Naoussa - a busy fishing town. Again the place we stayed at - Kanales Apartments Paros, had views of the sea :)

There wasn't much things to do in Naoussa, most of the shops still closed even if it says that this place is a busy tourist area. I guess they thrive only in the peak seasons...we came here in the shoulder season which is also good.

We were able to hire bikes, something we weren't able to do in Mykonos. It was a good workout, after a heavy breakfast. Up & down those hills, even if they don't look challenging at all. The sun was also out on full blast! Unfortunately we forgot to time how long it took us to get to Parikia.

This area seems to be a bit more busy, with more stores open. We visited some archaeological sites scattered around the area. Some not even shown on the map, we just happen to pass a sign pointing us to the direction. One of the things on my list to see was Panagia Ekatontapiliani (Church of Our Lady of 100 Doors). I didn't count the doors, but I'm certain that it was well under that. This is one of the most treasured basilicas in the Orthodox faith.

Biked back to the apartments for a quick rest, before heading out to the other direction towards Santa Maria where we had a little picnic by the beach. The bike ride back was the worst, we had to just walk our bikes back up the hill. But at the end of the day when we returned the bikes, we had done at least 50km worth of biking :)

Stayed only a couple of nights in Paros before taking another ferry, this time only half an hour, to the island just across the waters called Naxos. This resort is probably the best we've stayed in so far - Naxos Resort - just a short walk to Saint George Beach. Though we didn't dare go to the beach, or even get into the pool. It was way too cold & windy!

After breakfast we walked to Palatia Sanctuary of Delian Apollo (Portara), a 6th century BC archway that is visible from the port. It's HUGE! The views from it were amazing! Then we went to Metropolis Square (Ancient town of Naxos) & checked out the Mitropolis Museum. This museum is built around an excavation site from a 13th century settlement. Walked up the little alleys to get to the top of the hill where the remains of the Kastro or Venetian Castle sits. One of the structures left there is the Tower of Sanoudos. The central edifice of the castle which was created in 1207 by the Venetian Marco Sanoudo, who at the time created the Duchy of Archipelago. The resort had a gym which we made use of. Thank goodness since we need to get rid of all that buffet breakfast we've been eating!

So there goes our 2 nights in Naxos, & the next island was Santorini. One of my most favourite Greek Islands :) We were booked into Daedalous Hotel, not much of a view except for the garden & pool, but close enough to walk into Fira Town.

On our first full day, we decided to do a half-day excursion to the volcano & hot springs. Walked to the Old Port via the 589 or so steps down a smelly, donkey-poo-covered path. Not only were we dodging the crap, but also the donkeys when they would come up & down the path carrying the lazy tourists.

We took the boat to The National Geological Park of Nea Kameni. An islet made by a volcano. Our guide took us around for about an hour or so pointing out the different craters (which ones were active & those that were dormant). You could even see smoke coming out of the vents. Afterward, we were taken to Palea Kameni where the hot springs were. The boat couldn't get too close to the shore, so we had to jump out into 6m deep FREEZING water & swim 50m to the springs. They really shouldn't call it "hot" springs if it's not going to be hot. It was murky brown water that smelt weird. There were some hot parts but it wasn't continuous, so I was a little disappointed :( Back to the Old Port & we made our way to town up that same zig-zag path ;)

Got ready to go out to dinner. We wanted a restaurant with views of the sunset. I really wanted to go to Oia, but because it's not the peak season yet, not much is open in the area. We settled with Zafora, which turned out to be perfect anyway because we got the best table & the best view...& yes the best food. We made sure before we made a booking that they had mousakka & spicy meatballs in tomato sauce (we've become addicted to these dishes hehehe). After dinner Joel wanted to go for a walk along the caldera. Enjoyed the views for awhile until Joel surprised me with a marriage proposal :) Well if you've been following Facebook, you'd know that I said YES! :) :) :)

After breakfast the next day we took the bus to Pyrgos & trekked up the mountain to Profitis Ilias, & again we forgot to time ourselves. It was overcast & super windy! Walked along the beaten path along the mountain ridge to get to the bottom on the other side, only to climb up another to get to Ancient Thira. Spent some time here taking in the views all around, & reading about the ruins on the summit. Then it was back down the mountain to the black sand beach of Kamari.

We had the morning to do any last minute exploring in Santorini before taking the ferry back to Pireaus (Athens). We walked towards Oia, but only got halfway before we had to turn back. There was even a dog making sure we'd go the right direction. Everytime we'd stop to take a picture, he/she would be waiting around the corner before he/she would move on :)

I dreaded the trip back. It was the slowest, longest, bumpiest ride we had to take. We left Santorini at 4pm, & arrived 8hrs later, I was lying down practically the whole time to make sure that I didn't get motion sickness. We were glad we made an overnight booking at Hotel Delfini just across the port, so we didn't have to take any other transportation so late at night.

We left early in the morning to get back to Athens, & were able to check-in at the same hostel even if it was only 6:30am. We were even upgraded to a private room! Took a nap then did our most favourite thing - laundry...*SIGH* But as soon as we could, we left & walked up Likavitos (Lycabettus Hill), where we took some pictures by Ag. Georgias.

Today is our last full day in Athens, & the first thing we did was go to the Parliament House to watch the amusing, changing of the guards. Love their fur-ball shoes, & funny marches :) Walked through the National Gardens to get to the Panathenaic Stadium (site of the first Modern Olympics in 1896). I hope to come back to Greece again one day, I just love it here & there is still so many places to discover!

Beijing - London - Edinburgh - Oxford - Windsor - Paris - Luxembourg - Munich - Dachau - Zurich - Venice - Florence - Rome

2010-03-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

01 - 31 March, 2010

I must say, that even finally touching snow for the first time in my life, I am quite over it already...though it does make everything so clean & picturesque. Even before entering the Forbidden City, we were able to take decent shots of the Front Gate, & Tianamen Square - which by the way isn´t what I expected.

I imagined that Tianamen Square was much larger, & situated within the walls of the Forbidden City, & with the large framed picture of Chairman Mao hanging from one of it´s buildings. This was not the case; Tianamen Square is a large stoned paved area with a Monument of the People´s Heroes, The Great Hall of the People on one side, & the Forbidden City across the road. The photo of Chairman Mao was small compared to what you would usually see in travel shows, postcards, etc.

There were many gates to walk through in the city, & all had its own purpose. The Gate of Heavenly Peace was the first we walked through, followed by Wu Men (Meridian Gate) which was restored in the 17th century. Then there was the Supreme Harmony Gate, & Taihe Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony). This was the most important & largest structure in the city. It was built in the 15th century & restored in the 17th, it´s use was for ceremonial occasions such as the emperor´s birthday, nomination of military leaders & coronations. Inside the hall was the impressive Longyi (The Dragon Throne).

Zhongku Dian (The all of Middle Harmony) next, was used as a transit lounge for the emperor. Baohe Dian (Hall of Preserving Harmony) was used for banquets & later for imperial examinations. Behind this building is a large 200 ton stone carving of dragons & clouds.This carriageway was moved to Beijing on an ice path. The emperor was conveyed over the carriageway on his sedan chair over this stone.

I couldn´t feel my feet by the time we finished the Forbidden City, it was just sooooo cold! We kept up with the walking to see the Drum Tower, the Bell Tower, & the Hutong area.

It was a good thing that we were still the only ones in our room because we were up early to check-out & catch the express train to Terminal 3 of the Beijing International Airport.

Flew with British Airways, & it took about 11 hours. We arrived in Longon around 3:30pm adding another 8 hours to our already long day. Didn´t hear much from Joel throughout the flight, he was really stuck in watching 5 movies.

Once in London, England it didn´t take long to find our hostel as I stayed in the same one in 2007 - Astor Victoria.

We were sleeping soundly until 3 bimbo Americans came in, turned on the lights & were forever complaining about it being stuffy & not being able to breath. Here´s a solution - get out & go somewhere else!

In any case waking up with a breakfast buffet to look forward to is always a mood changer for me. So after a filling one, we went for a wonder around good ol´ London.

Got to see Buckingham Palace...queen was in the house..& noticed she was busy making a few renovations. Had a nice stroll through St James´Park to get to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, & of course Big Ben. Looming over the River Thames was the absolutely over-priced London Eye. I wouldn´t dare pay AUD$20 getting into an enclosed capsule with ´X´ amount of people & stuck with them for half an hour. Though the Indian guy in our room said it was "marvelous"...alright I´ll take your word for it ;)

Walked to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, & Regent Street...Monopoly anyone?

One of the things I love about our hostel is that there´s a guest kitchen I´d wake-up in the morning thinking what to cook for our meal Plus I haven´t cooked in such a long time so it was very exciting!

That night's sleep wasn't any better, a group of Italians checked-in passed midnight & turned on lights, & unzipped & zipped & unzipped their bags...how many times does a person need to do this? And if you do, you'd think they'll try & do it quietly.

Well Joel & I got them back in the morning...EARLY in the morning :) Turned on lights, sorted & packed our bags very loudly, talking normally, walking over the creaky floors...but the icing on the cake was when a friend of the Indian guy knocked, came in & started talking loudly. One of the girls was getting irritated she hit her head on the metal bed frame while turning over, SERVES YOU RIGHT!

After a satisfying start to the day, we walked to Portobello Road Markets & was greeted by what seems like the entire population of London packed into one street! I'm sure most were tourists of course, either curious, like we were on what it was all about, or looking for that antique decoration that you know will be too expensive.

We waited in the common room of the hostel until it was time to leave for overnight bus to Edinburgh, Scotland. Awww...the chairs barely had enough space for Joel's legs, & they only reclined probably an inch? I did get a couple hours of solid sleep, until we arrived at our first stop at 2am. After that I was in & out until we arrived at 8am.

We were walking zombies on our way to High Street Hostel. And of course arriving this early means you can't check-in just yet, so left our bags in storage & walked around. Passed the High Kirk of St Giles, Edinburgh Castle, & the Walter Scott Monument.

Had such a wonderful sleep last night :) Today we headed down to see The Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the queen's official residence while in Scotland, & also saw Arthur's Seat. We were supposed to fo on the 7:30pm City of the Dead tour, but it was cancelled because there was a mix-up with the tour guides. Good news is, we get discounts for tomorrow :)

Tried to fo to the Royal Museum of Scotland, but it was still closed due to a strike going on. Joined the 3:30pm tour City of the Dead. Biggest waste of money, even with a discount. It says 1 1/2 hours, we were only 1 hour. Kat our guide was good at telling the stories, but I wasn't sure whether to believe her. It all seemed too rehearsed. I'm sure she was telling the truth about what the underground vaults were used for, & the fascinating history of the city, but stories about what people saw, felt, experienced down there? What a load of bull****

*SIGH* So back to the hostel, for another long wait until it was time to leave for the overnight bus back to London. I won't even bother writing about that sleep, I sure you can guess how it was.

After arriving back in London, we visited the British Museum. Only saw a handful of exhibitions because we were just so tired, it was hard to concentrate on reading all the descriptions. So we bailed out.

Went on a day trip to Oxford today. Went to Christ Church College which had an interesting history, as it's links to the story of Alice in Wonderland, and the Harry Potter movies. We weren't planning on it, but we ended up spending almost an hour inside the Christ Church Cathedral where a friendly guide gave us quite a background of the place. This included how Charles Dodgson a maths tutor who is known to most as Lewis Carrol came about the idea of the story Alice In Wonderland. I was surprised to find out that the characters in the story are based on real people who were in some connection to the college. Alice was one of 3 daughters of Henry Liddell the dean at the time, the White Rabbit was Henry, & even their pet cat who was always on a large tree became the Cheshire Cat! There were other interesting facts about the cathedral of course & I'd give you guys examples but I can't remember dates & people's names :P

Since the dining hall was not open until 2pm, we headed out & passed other schools Corpus Christi College, Merton College, University College, & All Souls College. This truly is a university town.

Just by the Radcliffe Camera was also Bodleian Library. One of the oldest libraries in the world, with books from the 1400's. Afterwards we quickly headed back to Christ Church College to see the dining hall. This hall was the inspiration for the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies. It has framed pictures of passed deans throughout the hall.

We spent the next day walking around London. Walked along the Victoria Embankment, crossed the River Thames on the Waterloo Bridge & passed Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, HMS Belfast, before crossing on the Tower Bridge. Had a quick look inside St Paul's Cathedral, then to the Temple Church.

Then it was off to another day trip, this time to Windsor. It's great to have these youth cards, even when the prices are supposedly for students only. We must look so poor that they feel sorry for us & just give us the discount anyway :) It also came with a free audio guide which was great! Every room was explained. Visited Queen Mary's Dolls' House (it has electricity & plumbing!), The Drawing Gallery, the State Apartments, out to St George's Chapel, & afterwards walked to Eton College.

The Eurostar train to Paris today. Staying at Perfect Hostel & Hotel. I love breakfast in France - hot chocolate, croissant/choc croissant, danish, & orange juice. It's the same everywhere. First thing we did was walk to Tour Eiffel. We climbed up the 2 floors & elevator to the 3rd since there was no stairs to get to the last. Spent about 1 1/2 hours checking out the views as we got higher. Then across the Seine River to Trocadero & then to Arc de Triomph Etoile. Window-shopped along Avenue des Champs Elysees, & the evening headed to Sacre Coeur.

So much walking done yesterday, it wasn't going to be any different today. We started at Notre Dame, to the Pantheon, & then to the Catacombs. The place was amazing. We went down 130 steps & walked 2km underground. Bones were just stacked against the walls & some used as decorations.

If you want to spend a day indoors, then the Louvre is the place to go. We spent close to 6 hours in there, & when I think about that it's almost like flying to the Philippines from Australia! But I like the Louvre :) Checked-out every single floor, all the paintings, & sculptures...we're absolutely "museumed" out!

Well the next day, since we were leaving before breakfast started, the lady at reception gave us some stuff to take. The amount she gave kind of shocked me - 2L of orange juice, & a whole pack (6x) of the choc croissants, & she was even apologising that she couldn't get the baguette! hehehe

OK so anyway, we were heading into Luxembourg today. A small but very expensive country. Stayed at AJ Luxembourg, in a pretty little valley, just a bus ride away from the train station. Since we couldn't check-in to our room yet, we walked up the steep hill to get to Place Guill II. Not much really to do, since we were staying here for 2 nights, I didn't want to do all the sightseeing already. It's also a really small city so all could be covered easily in a day.

So the next day, we started off early. Enjoyed their buffet breakfast of cheese, slices of meat, and the different kinds of breads, and the absolutely delicious hot chocolate! We looked around The Casemates, and also did the Wenzel walk (a self-guided tour around the city passing historical sights). That was pretty much Luxembourg, easy to walk around :) I'm sure there are other places to go to for day trips but we didn't have time for that...and perhaps most importantly the money for it :P I did however have come to enjoy the game of ping pong :)

It was another early start today, due to the fact that we couldn't take the shuttle from the hostel, we would have to catch the bus to the station. Which meant having to give ourselves a good 10-15 minutes to walk up that ridiculous hill, and the pavement wasn't smooth...AND it was drizzling. The only good thing was that we would be on the train and won't miss out on a nice sunny day.

We changed trains at Cologne, but didn't move for at least 30 minutes. The train was too heavy. They actually forgot to add the rest of the carriages, and it had to be 2nd class carriages...our one. So everyone who didn't have a reservation for first class were standing in the aisles and doorways. We were like this for about 1 1/2 hours until we got to the station after Frankfurt and they finally added those other carriages. It felt so good to sit down, most especially since we did pay for seat reservations!

The hostel in Munich was on the same street as the one I stayed at in 2007 so it was easy to find - Euro Youth Hostel. Great hostel, even if we were in a 12 bed-dorm room I was able to sleep so well. I just love Germany!

Did a day trip to Dachau the next day. Our tour guide was Gordon, absolutely awesome! He knew everything, and was quite funny. He summarized everything he learnt about the concentration camp pretty good. Because if we had gone by ourselves we'd probably still be reading all the boards. The first thing you see, & walk through is an iron gate with the words in German saying "Work Will Set You Free".

Then they were lined up in rows & marched into the administration office, stripped off not only their clothing but also their identity & rights. They were treated like animals, or even worse. After handing over all their belongings, they were given stripped uniforms & patches with their identity numbers. Punished for the littlest things, & even if it's not their fault. It could be as stupid as someone in your room not fixing their bed...everyone in that room will be punished. Worked in harsh conditions, unhygienic, hardly given food & so on...

We got to see the huge room where they showered & tortured - hands tied behind their backs & pulled up with ropes from the ceiling so hard and sudden that their shoulders popped out, & their collar bones broke. Their accommodations are now only replicas of those that were on the site. They had rooms that should only be for 50 people but were cramming over 400 inside. The rooms were so crowded that when the doors were opened, feaces would literally flow out...

Seven of the original housings were linked together by a corridor. These rooms were used for human experiments. We saw the gas chambers that looked like shower rooms. The last thing we passed was the statue of an Unmarked Soldier with the words "To honor the death, to admonish the living" in German. This was designed by one of the survivors of the camp.

When we got back to Munich, Joel & I walked to Hofbrauhaus for lunch. Food and service was disappointing. I had turkey ragout in mushroom cream sauce & spatzle and it was very bland. When Joel's sausage platter came out it looked like a kid made it. And pretzels were a crap size too for the amount we paid for it. I should have known better that this place was a tourist trap. TSK TSK TSK

Afterwards, we walked passed the Residenz, Feldherrnhalle, Theatinerkirche, and into the Englishe Garten. The next day we went back to the garten & took our time strolling around. It's so quiet now compared to when I came last time, the park was full! But I guess it's still not the weather to be out lazing in the sun since there's still not much of it. We visited 3 churches - Theatinerkirche, which is quite nice inside compared to it's hideous yellow facade; then to Frauenkirche, & Peterskirche. We were also just in time for the Glockenspiel to play at 12 noon. Lots of "oohs" and "aaahhhs" from the crowd.

We bought HUGE pretzels in the morning before catching our train to Zurich. They're even bigger that my head, & it took me about 30 minutes to finish it hehehe. We arrived almost 5pm, quite a long train ride. Stayed at City Backpacker - Hotel Biber. This hostel had a kitchen in every floor, the only disappointing thing was that there was no toaster or microwave for our breakfast :(

We walked to Grossmunster early in the morning even before it opened up. Good thing the sun was out and the heat was nice for a change. The church was completed as a Romanesque church in 1220. Zwingli initiated the Zurich reformation in the 16th century here. And one of he's Bibles is set in a protected case near the pulpit.

Went across the bridge over the Limmat river to Fraumunster Kirche. Founded in 853, & mostly noble women lived there. It was an influential Benedictine abbey that had the right to collect tolls, hold markets, & mint coins. The glass windows were by Augusto Giacometti & Marc Chagall. There's also a large organ with 5793 pipes!

Down to Bukli Platz and enjoyed the waterfront view. The square was built under the municipal engineer Arnold Burkli in 1887. On a clear day, you have an alpine panorama which is exactly what we had :) We sat for awhile just soaking up the sun :) Window-shopped along Bahnofstrasse - the exclusive shopping mile which is lined with elegant department store, famous boutiques for fashion & jewellery, inviting street cafes & restaurants...all that we couldn't have. The street covers about 1.4km from the main train station all the way to the lake, Zurichsee.

Back down by the river after eating to take some pictures of St Peter Kirche. It has Europe's largest clock face - 8.7m in diameter, & it has held this record since 1534. The church is also Zurich's oldest. Back in the day it was used as the fire watch lookout point, & parts of the building are from the 9th - 15th centuries, with a Baroque gallery.

I also love lazy days. And this was the laziest one yet :) Since we've seen pretty much everything there is to see in Zurich, we decided to follow the walking tour that was in our city map. It started in Bahnofstrasse then down to Schipfe, and area which dates back to the 13th century where ships were pushed back & forth on the river. Up the hill to Lidenhof with Celtic, Roman & medieval remains bear witness to the rich history of the hillock that has been populated since 1500BC! And in 1798, the citizens of Zurich swore an oath to the Helvetic Constitution on the site.

Passed St Peter Kirche before getting to Paradeplatz, the heart of Bahnofstrasse where the Swiss major banks have their headquarters. Also had a look inside Sprungli Confiserie Cafe, which was founded by one of the original Lindt chocolate makers. Gosh it smelt so good inside!

Had a quick look around Weinplatz/Rathous where there was supposed to be remains of Roman baths, which by the way we didn't see. Then up to Neumarkt/Spiegelgasse. Neumarkt (New Market) was just outside the old city wall, & the tower at the end was built as a residence for the nobilty. History was written in Spiegelgasse at #14 where Lenin set up the Russian Revolution.

We checked-out around 10:30am the next day and waited for out train to Venice, with a change in Milan. The last time I came to Venice the accommodation was in a camp site and you had to take a bus into the area. But this time is was right by the canals at Hotel Leonardo. For dinner we had our first true Italian pizza & spaghetti. Yum yum yum!

Heade to Ponte di Rialto by just following the signs. Good fun to get lost in Venice with all the small alleys and bridges over the canals :) Then lined up to go inside Basilica San Marco. No pictures inside, but I'm getting good at taking sneaky ones ;) Got to see torre dell'orologio, Palazo Ducale, Biblioteca Marciana, & of course Piazza San Marco...with all the pigeons being fed :) Had my taste of gelato a short time later too...soooooooo good! I could never get sick of eating here in Italy :)

It was a good thing that I checked the time when I woke up, I was surprised it was already 8am. Turns out that my phone changes the time automatically for daylight saving, which meant being moved an hour ahead. Lucky too because we needed to catch a train around lunch time to Florence that day!

When we got to Florence it spent about 15 minutes looking for that darn #25 bus to get us to the hostel. Turns out that we'd have to catch another one to San Marco & change there to the #25. Ok so we did, then arrived at the address on our confirmation later. Only to be told that the place had closed down last January. Hmmm so why didn't I get an email about this? Well at least the people at the other hostel there were very helpful, they let me used their mobile to contact HostelBookers.com to find out what was going on. It turns out that B&B Mainson was still open but had moved to a different location.

Sooooooo we walked about 30 minutes to their new address. And I was told that they did send an email regarding their new address...yes they did only a few days before arrival which was stupid. Because not everyone carries with them a laptop, OR afford to pay CHF18 per hour or EUR7 to use the internet. It would have been nice of them to mention it when they were planning on the move.

First place we visited on our full day in Florence was Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, it was quite a line up to get in! Walked accross the popular Ponte Vecchio with all it's jewellery stores & took our time walking up Piazzale Michelangelo with it's awesome view over Florence. Then further up to Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte, before heading down to Santa Croce.

For lunch we waited in line for at least an hour to get our freshly made sandwiches at Antico Noe. But it was sooooooooo worth it! I've never tasted a sandwich better than this, the meat was freshly sliced, the cheese was freshly sliced...everything was just YUM YUM YUM x 3!!!! And afterwards walked around Piazze della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, & Galleria degli Uffizi. We pretty much just followed random people around the streets to see where it would take us, and we ended up at Piazze della Repubblica. Sat under the sun for while like everyone else before heading to Firenze Fiera, which ended up being closed.

Getting to Rome & our hostel was easy compared to the last trip. Now staying at Rome City Hostel. Location is a bit of a hike from the city but not complaining there, because it means we can eat twice as many pizzas, pastas, gelatos & what not ;) We got ready to go out & meet Joel's parents & nan at Fontana di Trevi. Joined them for dinner before heading back to the hostel.

Again we visted Fontana di Trevi in the morning, when there wasn't that many people yet. But everyone seems to like getting their picture taken throwing coins into the fountain, did it once before, wasn't anything exciting. Crossed the river & passed Castel San Angelo before getting to Piazza San Pietro at the Vatican. We waited with the crowd to see the pope. He came out in his pope mobile & everyone was cheering, chanting his name, & groups of people holding banners. It was as if he was a rock star, he was quite happy to be just going around waving too. We only stayed awhile before going to Colosseo, Palatino, & Foro Romano.

Then it was back to San Pietro to get inside the basilica. We actually started lining up to what we thought was to get in, but I saw a sign saying something about climbing 300+ steps. Now I've been here before & I don't remember that, so while Joel stayed in the line I went back to ask the security who pointed me the right way & happily said that there was no line to get into the basilica. *SIGH* I don't know how long we were standing there waiting, but good we didn't have to anymore. Took lots of pictures inside :)

Our treat for the day? Was 6 scoops of gelato (tiramisu, creme caramel, bacio, strawberry, pistacio, & kiwi) & ate at Fontana di Trevi. Anyone jelous yet?

Ho Chi Minh - Hong Kong - Macau - Shanghai - Hangzhou - Suzhou - Xi'An - Beijing

2010-02-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

01-28 February, 2010

Started the month by getting up at 5am to depart Cambodia via bus to Vietnam. It was the first time in Asia that our pick-up actually came on time to bring us to the bus station :) On the bus we were even given a little breakfast pack!

The ride to Ho Chi Minh was nothing great except for when we got to the border. Leaving Cambodia was easy, when we got to the Vietnam immigration our bus driver got into an argument with a Vietnamese guard who ended up demanding his passport & confiscated it. Well, of course we really don't know the whole story, but the bus did have to go around the immigration building & do the whole process again. Only Joel, myself & another man had to get off & drag our bags over to get scanned once more, & after that it was as if nothing happened & we were off again.

Finally arrived at Ho Chi Minh City around 1:30pm. Getting off the bus, or any form of transportation in most parts of Asia, you get hassled by tuk-tuk, taxi drivers etc. to give you a ride to your accommodation - usually at a ridiculous price. Even if your accommodation is literally around the corner they will insist it's too far to walk. Good thing I research my places of interests, & also get in touch with any hostel I plan to stay in to get directions. Sorry guys, but you're definitely not getting any business from me! So we got to the guesthouse fine, & spent the rest of the day browsing the streets around us.

We toured the grounds & the interior of the Independence Palace. There were replicas of the tanks that broke through the gates back in April 30, 1975. Inside you get to see the president's library, the banquet halls, reception area, & a cinema room. In the basement, there's the president's war bedroom as well as his office, & all the communication rooms. So yea, nothing exciting.

Made our way to the Central Post Office & it seemed to be such a big deal to the tourists. We only went because we saw so many people standing around taking pictures. It was packed inside! But all their souvenirs were overpriced & way too many people crammed in tiny spaces.

We found a nice cafe - Lam Cafe on our street, cheap & a good place to sit & people watch. And every day around lunch time, we would see the same guy walking around looking under the table at people's shoes, offering his services to shine them. Even asked Joel who was clearly not even wearing closed shoes!

We also checked out the War Remnants Museum. Learned how the stupid American troops treated & killed the Vietnamese people. The photos are proof of that. It makes me so angry & disgusted to have American bloodlines. Up till now you see how it has affected some people, most especially from the Agent Orange - birth defects, & also farmers injured and/or dying from steeping on the landmines. Really makes you think - don't these Americans know how to keep their noses in their own business?!?

Anyway afterwards we visited the Cathedral Notre-Dam & had a quick browse inside. I guess to pray for people's sins?!?

Out of Vietnam & into Hong Kong, flying with Cathay Pacific CX766 we departed at 11:40am. I love it when meals are served on flights, especially if it's around Asia, you know the food will be yummy! From the airport, it was just a bus ride away on the Airport Shuttle A21 to the hostel.

Anyone who decides to go to Hong Kong, stay away from the hostels at Chung King Mansions. Yes they are cheap, but unless you want to stay in - a) a shoebox-size room; b) shower literally over the toilet; or c) be hassled be losers trying to sell you suits, fake watches, phonecards, etc. & even other rooms to stay - keep away! But then again every corner in Tsim Sha Tsui has a salesman trying to sell you all those things - what on earth will I do with a suit on this trip? Seriously...

And as for those fake goods sellers, I was tempted to surprise them by taking their photo & telling them I work at customs & in the next hour someone will hunt you down & deport you out of the country. I hate pests like that, can't they get a better job? Nobody seems to ignore their blabber anyway.

Good thing not all of Hong Kong is like that. We went to Singapore Noodle for dinner - NEVER eating Chinese food again! I didn't like it before & now I'm determined that it's not good food at all. Everything is sooo oily, absolutely drenched in oil. And what's the go? No rice?!? I've never been to an Asian restaurant that doesn't have rice included with the meal. Forget it, I'm sticking to western fast food for the rest of the stay.

Nothing opens until around 11-11:30am here. We spent the morning just walking up Nathan Road until we got to Langham Place. I've never been so willing & craving to chow down McDonald's in my life! Tummy satisfied, we moved on just going up & down the streets around the electronic gods, Ladies Market, & the sporting goods before heading back down to the Star Ferry Pier.

It was overcast & the taller buildings were missing their top floors because of the clouds being so low. On the way back to the hostel, we passed a small convenience store selling some steamed goods. Not fried, OK I can do this; & so we bought some to try. Beef Shaomai, & Fish Shaomai - cheap & actually delicious :)

Rainy day in Hong Kong, but we headed out anyway. Umbrellas on hand & went to the Gold Fish Market where Joel went a little crazy taking pictures of ornamental fish. There were also pet shops in the area with really cute puppies! But what I really want is the tortoise which one of them was selling. One day I think I will...

For lunch today we went to Modern Toilet. It was great, & I wasn't the least bit grossed out. Our food was served not on plates, but on miniature toilet seats, wash basins, bathtubs, etc. And did I mention the chairs were toilet seats? The whole place was decorated like we were in the bathroom, but get this - they didn't have proper restrooms to use! The icing on the cake would have to be our dessert - chocolate ice cream served on a toilet seat - use your imagination of what this may look like ;)

We took a day trip to Macau, & didn't realise that we would get stamped in our passports...YEAY!!! We left at 7am on the New World First Ferry. It only took about an hour to get there, & the first thing you notice are the casinos. It's like the Asian version of Monaco without the little rick kids driving around in their expensive cars.

Macau isn't that big, so it was easy to walk around to see the sights. I had a few things listed to see here, but because we have the whole day, we decided to see all other attractions as well. Well we tried anyway - first was down to the Temple de A-Ma, then along Calcada de Barra was the Quartel dos Mouros, then rested for awhile at Largo do Lilau - I was starting to get dizzy.

We skipped the others, since most were churches anyway, & headed straight to Ruinas de S. Paulo. By the time we got there, I was feeling better, must have been that Portugese Egg Tart I bought to help get rid of it...that's what I'd like to think anyway :)

Back to Ruinas de S.Paulo, we went underground to visit a crypt & a small museum before heading up the hill to Fortaleza do Monte. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Mondays, then it started to rain heavily. So we were stuck there for awhile, & by the time we got to walk around again it was coming up to lunch time.

Couldn't find a decent place that served food close to Portuguese-style cooking...we decided to eat at a buffet instead :) There were lots of casinos around, one was bound to have that sort of restaurant. Well, we got lucky on the 3rd one - Sands Macau. It had a good selection of mains, & of course dessert :) I was pleased to see that there was shaomai - but after biting into it, I realised it was not beef nor fish, not even close to tasting like chicken...it was horse meat! Oh my goodness, it was the most disgusting meat I've ever tasted! Note to self: ask if there's no label...

Planned to head up to Fortuleza de Guia & the Lighthouse afterwards, but decided against it because of the rain. Was definitely not in the mood to hike up the hill getting soaked in the rain. Instead we went to Doca de Pescadores de Macau & browsed around the Convention & Exhibition Centre, There was also an International Cultural & Food Festival on. Stuck around until it was time to catch our ferry back to Hong Kong. Luckily, we were in time for an earlier one.

The following day, got the MTR to Hong Kong Island. From the Centre, we walked across to Causeway Bay, an area I visited in 2007. Upon arriving, the only thing I recognised was Times Square. Everything else looked different, lots of scaffolding.

Soon it was time to fly into mainland China, & the first stop was Shanghai. Again with Cathay Pacific CX368, it was only a 3 hour flight. Took a taxi to The Phoenix Hostel. Shanghai is COLD! Only 3C when we landed, it was raining & really windy. Was it a mistake to come here?

The day after was nice, though still cold, at least the sun was out. Walked along Huaihai Road - street lined on both sides with boutiques, malls & countless western fast foods such as McDonald's, KFC, & even Pizza Hut. The world's only flagship Barbie store was also on this street. It was 4 floors of everything Barbie, including a cafe, a designer studio for the kids, & a whole floor dedicated to limited edition, & porcelain Barbie dolls. Wishing I could afford all, I still managed to purchase 3 for my collection.

Passed Shanghai Old Street, a small alley still with it's original housing. Along with their clothes hanging to dry, they also had all sorts of meat & fish with them. This street ran parallel to a street bustling with tourists, & locals selling their goods. A large bazaar was at one end next to the Yuyuan Garden.

Taking the subway around is very straight forward, unlike in Sydney where it's like an obstacle finding which train to catch on what platform, & if it even stops at your station. Got across the river & took pictures around Pudong. Two of the world's tallest skyscrapers are located here - Shanghai World Financial Centre, & Jin Mao Observatory 88.

We got lucky at this hostel, we were in a room with some great people - Eiman, Laura, Oli, & Shameel from the UK, Camila, & Rosie from Australia. And since tonight was Chinese New Year's Eve, we all went to the Bund to a bar called Bar Rouge. We had such a great view of the Pudong area from the roof deck. You could see the fireworks from all directions. It even started snowing! The bar was jam-packed full of foreigners, & the celebration continued well into the morning. We're now in the Year of the Tiger.

Our first experience of riding the train was leaving Shanghai for Hangzhou. The station was full & it was absolutely crazy once the gates opened to board the train. I've never seen anything like it. It was as if everyone flooded through these gates to grab their claim of a million dollars, gold or something mind blowing. When in fact it was just to grab the seats not occupied & for bag space. Luckily our ticket had reserve seating...mind you, we still had to run through those gates so that we didn't get trampled on by the Chinese stampede!

We stayed at the Hangzhou West Lake Youth Hostel. Had a nice long walk on one side of the West Lake in the morning before meeting with Scott & his cousin Romeo after lunch. The lake is huge, had nice gardens around too. Lots of families in the area since it was still their holiday period. The only thing annoying was having to constantly step aside to give way to those golf cart trains transporting people around the lake, & they didn't slow that for anybody. There were pagodas like Leifeng Pagoda to visit, small parks with ponds, temples, & some interesting old buildings converted into a tea house, or souvenir store.

For dinner, Scott invited us to a restaurant that was like the hawkers market in the passed countries we've been to. Payment was made with coupons, & everything was in Chinese, so it was a good thing Scott was there to translate. Our table was full of dumplings, noodles, & wontons. Scott was insisting it wasn't enough, but I'm telling you I was so full by the end. My stomach was definitely satisfied :) We then took the taxi to Wushan Square & walked up & down the markets before calling it a night. Thanks Scott & Romeo!

Next train ride was to Suzhou. But first let me say that the train station in Hangzhou was the filthiest place I've ever been to. There were piles of rubbish everywhere - empty/even half eaten noodle containers, bottles, papers...under seats, on seats, corners of the room - YUCK! And to top it all off the spitting on the floor INDOORS!?! I mean, come on China, after thousands of years, & being one of the oldest civilisations, don't you get what a clean hygiene is? Hos about manners? Pushing & shoving won't get you anywhere, but if you think you can cut through in front of me, you better think again. I have gotten to the point where I will trample on feet, elbow, & shove away anybody who thinks it's ok to get in my way. And I'm not the least bit sorry if your bread is flattened by my luggage or if you're pushed back our of the train. You surely deserved it.

In any case, arriving in Suzhou was left without a hassle. Caught the crowded bus (surprise surprise) into the city. Our next accommodation - Mingtown Suzhou Youth Hostel - is along Pingjiang Road, one of the oldest in the area.

Suzhou is known for it's classical gardens, & silk. Obviously we came at the wrong time of the year, because when we visited Wang Shi Yuan (Master of the Nets Garden) - which is said to be better than all the gardens combined - is was a real disappointment. Should have known better that flowers bloom in Spring, not in Winter...duhhh. Instead of beautiful colours, & gardens, we were greeted with a cold, dull, rocky place. Nothing much to see & actually quite a bore, not to mention a waste of money. Even Shuang Ta (Twin Pagodas) were nothing great. The only thing we looked forward to everyday was lunch time - eating at Pin Von Teahouse which is also located on our historic street. With their cheap fast snacks, such as dumplings, shaomai, spring rolls, & the absolutely delicious boiled glutinous rice balls in fermented glutinous rice...mmm.

Needless to say we were glad to leave Suzhou & hop on an overnight train to Xi'An. Not much sleep but is was good enough in our 4-bunk bed cabin which we shared with a mother & daughter. But oh my goodness...Xi'An would have to be the busiest place in China! Thankfully we were greeted by a representative from our hostel - Xian ShuYuan International Youth Hostel. I'm still not sure how we managed to squeeze into that crammed bus with our bags...

After settling in, we headed towards the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, & through the Muslim Quarter. Xi'An is one of the few cities in China where old city walls are still visible.

We made our own way to The Museum of Terra-Cotta Warriors & Horses of Qin Shihuang. It was easy enough just taking the local buses & taking our time rather than joining an expensive tour.

You get to visit 3 pits here, as well as an Exhibition Hall which stores artifacts found during the digs. Pit 1 is the most impressive, it was first discovered in 1974 by a peasant digging a well. For those who don't know, the government only paid RMB10 (equivalent to less than AUD$2) the peasant for his find. He now signs books at the pit, but if you want a picture with him, you of course, got to pay :) Sadly he wasn't there on the day of our visit.

The 6000 terra-cotta figures of warriors & horses in Pit 1 are in battle formation, & facing east. The other pits weren't as impressive; Pit 2 was discovered in 1976, & only partially excavated with most warriors lying on their side, broken in pieces; & Pit 3, the smallest discovered in 1980 only had 60 or so warriors & horses.

After a short stay in Xi'An, we took another overnight train to our last stop in China, & Asia - Beijing. Our train was on time, but the weather was beyond freezing for me. After just a few minutes of waiting for the bus to arrive & take us into the city, my fingertips felt like they were about to fall off.

We joined a small tour group for our trip to The Great Wall of China. Reached the Mutianyu part of the wall in just under 2 hours. It was snowing so it was absolutely picturesque! Joel & I opted to climb up the wall rather than be lazy & pay to get the cable car up. It took just under 30 minutes, but we were left short of breath & hot in our jackets. We had about 3 hours walking the wall with 20 towers to visit.

The stairs led us up to tower 8, & so we walked along to tower 1. More stairs up & down, parts were slippery here & there but all was worth it. When we got to the end, we got great shots of walls where tourists weren't allowed. So back we went & reached tower 14 before having to make our way back down to meet with the rest of the group. By this time I was glad to be going back, because it started snowing again & the cold wind was picking up.

Lunch was at a little restaurant just a short walk from the wall.They had a great choice of six dishes & all were delicious.

The next day, we visited the site of the 2008 Olympic Games. Got pictures of the National Stadium, & the National Aquatics Centre. Well my impression of the place? Not as good as what I thought it would be, so I was quite over it pretty fast. Oh & not to mention my calves were killing from our great walk on the wall...

Tonight was also the last night of the Chinese New Year celebrations. More fireworks, not that they ever stopped firing them. We've been hearing them constantly since the New Year started, even during the day. But I was too tired to care & fell asleep instantly...

Kuta - Kuala Lumpur - Penang - Surat Thani - Koh Samui - Bangkok - Siem Reap - Phnom Penh

2010-01-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

01 - 31 January, 2010

Finally leaving Bali & flying off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We flew out at 6am on budget airline AirAsia, never heard of them before but that's what's been booked for us. It was OK, it only took 3 hours to get there anyway, & everyone on the plane was asleep.

Our booked accommodation for the week was at Reggae Guest House 1. Right next to Chinatown & walking distance to majority of the attractions around Kuala Lumpur. We thought about buying tickets for that "Hop on - Hop off" bus the Jamaican-looking-American/British-talking (we couldn't work it out) guy was preaching we should take because "it's the best way to see Kuala Lumpur".

Well after our first day of sightseeing, it was quite clear it would be a waste of money, & definitely a lazy way of seeing the city. Plus you won't really get to experience the culture properly if you're on a bus full of trapped tourists. And not only that, the map was not to scale. Showing attractions far from each other, were only in fact 10-15 minutes walk away from each other! I see now how these poor tourists are often trapped, they see the map * think "Oh, that's too far, let's take up that "discount" bus offer". Well I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you have only a couple of days stay here, or you have young kids - but why would you take them anyway? Hehehe

Alright, so with all that aside, our first day out was overcast with some slight drizzle. We visited the Colonial District & took pictures around Dataran Merdeka. Here you had the views of Dayabumi (which houses some government offices), DBKL Library, & the 100m high flag pole - reputedly the tallest in the world. Across the road is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building; built in 1897 and served as the government administration during the British era. Nowadays however, it's the Malaysian Supreme & High Courts. Close-by is Masjid Jamek; built in 1909 & is the city's oldest surviving mosque. It was the principal mosque until in 1965 when Masjid Negara was opened.

When it started to clear-up, we walked to Menara Kuala Lumpur or KL Tower as it is better known. It was a bit of a hike walking up the hill. Supposedly the fourth tallest in the world, & the only one in the world situated within a forest reserve in the city.

Around the corner from our hostel is Jalan Petaling otherwise known as Chinatown. It's the same as every Chinatown in every city that has it - lots of cheap stalls (good practice for your bargaining skills), hawker stalls, & Indians following you around with fake DVDs to sell.

In the afternoon we walked towards the south-west. Taking pictures of the old KL Railway Station, & the KTM Railway Headquarters across the road. Went up the hill towards Masjid Negara, & saw some monkeys running around the front of the KL Bird Park.

Another place we frequented during our stay was Pasar Seni (Central Market) which started out in 1888 as the town's wholesale & retail wet market for fresh produce. The building that you see now however, is from 1986 & now has craft, souvenir, clothing stalls, & a handful of cheap eats.

We woke-up early one morning to catch the LRT (10-15 minutes ride) to Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). Needed to get there as early as possible to get the limited free tickets to go up to the Skybridge of Petronas Twin Towers. Got there at about 7:30am & was shocked how long the queue was already! Joined at the end of the winding snake line & waited for about an hour & a half. When they finally opened we were ticket #123 & reserved to go up at 9:45am. Can I say I was disappointed to find our it wasn't a glass-bottom walkway? Well I was, it still had good views, but there was nothing exciting about looking out into another city from glass-paneled windows. Our guide boasted how the elevator takes only 41 seconds to get up to the 41st floor...I guess that's cool... The rest of the day was spent taking our time looking around Suria KLCC, a mall at the bottom of the towers.

Woohoo! Bukit Bintang area the next day, a shopper's paradise from what I read. Looking at the map, there's a mall on practically every corner, & this is also where Berjaya Time Square is. The biggest mall I've ever seen & the most trying to walk around in. You just don't know where to go! On the 5th, 7th, & 8th floors is Cosmo's World Theme Park, where it houses the world's longest indoor roller coaster - 800m long Supersonic Odyssey.

Up the road is Low Yat Plaza, which would be heaven for nerds & techies. I can't remember how many floors it was, but it was full of camera stores, electronic gadgets, computers, mobile phones etc. Semi disappointed that I didn't find anything to buy, but I guess that's also good since I don't have room in my luggage at the moment.

So far I'm just loving Malaysia! Reminds me so much of the Philippines, just a bit more organised hehehe. We've tried black pepper chicken, mee goreng belacan, nasi lemak, & rendang chicken. Delicious & cheap meals, couldn't get any better than this :)

Our next journey took us to Penang. Our train - Express Langkawi 8 - left Sentral KL at 8pm, & is an overnight train trip to Butterworth. Which meant we had bunk beds! It was definitely a slow, noisy, & sometimes bumpy train ride. Butterworth was the 18th stop, but we didn't arrive until 5:30am, an hour late. Had to then drag our bags across to the port so that we could take the ferry over to Palau Pinang (Penang).

Now...the directions on the lodge's confirmation letter said it's a 20 minute walk...mmmhhhmmm. By the time we arrived at Hutton Lodge, we were aching & sweating so much you'd think we just had a shower. But anyway, the guy was king enough to let us check-in earlier & have breakfast :)

OK so if you ever go to Penang, & your around the Georgetown area, you MUST have dinner at Red Garden Food Paradise. The stalls don't open until 6pm. This is hawker paradise, tasty, there's quite a variety of meals to choose from, & yes - CHEAP!

We only had a few days in Penang so we didn't waste time when it came to seeing the sights. Got a brochure at the reception area that was perfect for a day out. It was a self-guided walking tour around the UNESCO heritage listed Georgetown, showing old trades & must try foods.

Got to Fort Cornwallis just before it opened, & learned about Francis Light; the founder of Georgetown. Walked around the streets & got to see 40+ year old machines still in use at a spice mill, a temple named Khoo Kongse, & a mosque Kapitan Keling Mosque.

In an area called Little India, we snacked on semosas, tek tark (which is black tea with sweetened condensed milk), & apam telur (rice flour pancake with egg). These were all bought from little side-cart stalls, the cheapest way to eat.

A little while later we met an old man who is 3rd generation, & one of the last wooden signboard engravers in Penang. Another temple was close-by, Kuan Yin Teng, as well as flower garland weavers. The last temple we visited was Hainan Temple.

Early the next morning, we set out to get "the best" coconut tarts. And yes...there were the best :) Along the markets in Chinatown, we shared a Chinese doughnut called yu char kuick - never again, too oily.

Took the bus to Penang Hill. Getting to the top however meant having to ride 2 feniculars, changing halfway. It was quite slow & boring. Nice & cool at the top though, with good views of the island in all directions. Didn't stay too long at the top, we knew we were in for quite a trek going back down from 700+m up. Well it actually only took about an hour, but it was so steep in some parts we had to take realy small steps. Also there were groups of monkeys along the way.

The next day, we spent the morning walking around the area & buying stock for the long trip ahead. Around lunch time, it was bye-bye Penang & onto the ferry back to Butterworth. Taking the Exspres Antarabangsa train at 2:20pm to Suratthani in Thailand. It was nice to see some of the countryside for a change. Just 10 minutes before we reached the border, the train stopped & we all had to get off. We queued twice - one was to have out passport stamped leaving Malaysia, & the other for our arrival into Thailand!

Got talking with some of our fellow travelers - a couple of Malaysians on their way to Bangkok for a Muslim convention, & the other, a very arrogant Australian.

The trip went relatively fast. Our seats were turned into beds, given pillows & blankets. Arrived Suratthani at 12:45am, & took a taxi to Diamond Plaza Hotel for the night.

At 11 am the following day, a van picked us up & brought us to the ticketing office for Seatranferry, this was to get across to Koh Samui. Took another van that was packed, & got to the port in time for the 1pm ferry. We finally arrived on the island at 2:30pm, & another taxi ride which took half an hour got us to Lamai Beach, & our accommodation at Samui Beach Resort.

The resort is located right on the beach, which gave me an opportunity to take some sunrise shots. We hired a bike for the day & took it to see Temple Lamai, & Temple Sila Ngu. In the afternoon it would start to rain, but only for a short time. So we usually waited it out.On our way back to the town centre after returning the bikes, we discovered another hawkers paradise. We came here for dinner every night from then on.

The next day we set out on a long walk to Temple Khunaran & to see the Mummified Monk. From what I can remember reading, he passed away in 1978; & has been in cased in a glass case in the position he died. Joel pointed out that he was even wearing Ray Bans sunglasses. The walk to the temple probably took just over an hour & going back we rode one of their jeepney-like transportation.

We checked out Chaweng Beach area, & walked to the end of the road only stopping to check-out some stores along the way. But Otherwise, nothing else to do, so back to Lamai we went.

Koh Samui was nice, but it was time to move on. Got picked-up around lunch time & got dropped off at the port where our bus to Suratthani was waiting. It took us to another port where it too boarded a ferry. When we got back to mainland, it dropped us off for another transfer. Took us to a "cafe/tourist office" for ANOTHER wait. There until 7pm and finally got brought to the train station.

And OF COURSE, the trains were delayed. Didn't leave until 12:15am on the Special Express 36 to Bangkok on one of the sleeper carriages. I was so happy to finally get to sleep. Arrived in Bangkok at 11:30am & took a tuk-tuk to Roof View Place. Didn't waste time here, just dropped our bags, showered & off we went.

The next day was no exception, we headed out to Vimanmek Mansion, & passed Benjamabophit. The camera ran out of battery, & silly me forgot to being the spare, so we decided to head back into town where all the malls were at :) no complaints there!

Tried to see a few more temples the following day, but most had dress codes & there was no way I was going to walk around Bangkok in jeans. We still were able to take a peek at Phra Kaeo, the Grand Palace, & Wat Po. We went to Dusit Zoo for the rest of the day instead. Lots of albino animals, & some bored looking ones because they were all alone. I don't like going to zoos, & this place was a good example why. Three elephants were chained in a small enclosure, including a baby elephant. They just kept swaying back & forth like in some sort of trance. Why people come here & enjoy themselves, I just don't know...

Different scene the next day...people, LOTS of people, mostly tourists of course, like ants crawling into malls. I had just discovered the BEST, & BIGGEST food court/food hall/gourmet supermarket ever in the WORLD! Well to me anyway :) This awesomeness of a place can be found on the ground floor of Siam Paragon.

Well, we ended up eating there yesterday, & of course had a difficult choice on what to eat. but today, we got up early - yet again - to catch a flight with Bangkok Airways to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was crazy, the flight lasted only 30 minutes. Took off, leveled for a very short time, in which they were still able to serve us a meal, then next thing we were descending!

Out tuk-tuk driver was there to take us to the guesthouse I had booked in - Bun Nath Guesthouse. One thing that is going to annoy me during our stay in Cambodia is the use of US dollars here. The have their own currency here - riel - but they use the notes as the coinage. So when you get change of less than a $1, you get it in riel & who knows how it all works out!?! Everything is also marked in dollars, so for an Asian country, it's expensive.

We did a sunrise tour of Angkor Wat while here. Headed out at 5am & sat on a retaining wall by the water & waited patiently in the dark for the sun to rise. It was quite a pretty sight :) Went in & explored the area, probably an hour here just walking around.

Then our tuk-tuk took us to an even bigger complex - Angkor Thom. This had the huge Bayon, as well as the Terrace of the Elephants, & the Terrace of the Leper King. It was starting to get real hot now - even worse because we had to wear long pants to get into some temples.

Visited a couple of small ones along the way - Chau Say Thevoda, Thommanom, & the crazy climb up the stairs one of Ta Keo, phew! Ta Phrhm would have to be the absolute BEST that we visited, it's what you would imagine the place would be - covered with overgrown, large, tall trees, roots covering doorways, & growing on the roofs of the temples! Got to also check-out three more before calling it a day - Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup, & East Mebon.

To get to Phnom Penh, we left at 7:30am on the Paramount Angkor Express bus. It took 6 hours to get there, & it was mostly countryside that you see along the way, so I was falling asleep.

Here, we're going to stay at Sunday Guesthouse. There's really nothing around the area that is anything of interest, so I quickly got bored of Phnom Penh. We managed to get a tuk-tuk to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, or the Killing Fields. What happened here in the late 70s was horrible - there has already been lots of mass graves dug up with the bones of men, women, & even children. There's still some clothes left half buried on the grounds.

Back to Phnom Penh to visit the Tuol Sleng Museum. A high school that was turned into a prison where they interrogated & killed more people. There were 4 buildings to visit, with 3 floors each. They had photographs of the Khmer, & foreign victims that were tortured here.

Cambodia - sorry but I'm not going to miss you. I'll probably come back, but only to Siem Reap. There is still a lot to explore there, but otherwise no thanks...

Manila - Donsol - Ubud - Kuta

2010-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

01 - 31 December, 2009

Twelve days until Joel arrives, & twenty days till Bali. Time sure flies when you're having fun...LOADS of FUN! This week I decided to start putting together the things I will send back to Australia, & all of a sudden I felt like there was so much to do...

Come Friday, I left the house early & took the taxi to Makati. Needed to apply for the Chinese visa. I was told it was a process that would take up majority of the morning, but surprisingly I was in & out in 30 minutes. Though that didn't include the hour and a half waiting in a queue for them to open ;) I couldn't believe how many people were applying.

After leaving my passport & forms to be processed I waited outside for the new, & not to mention free-ride E-Jeepney. This took me all around Salcedo Village before getting to my stop at Landmark. It was a smooth & quiet ride. I told the driver not to leave until I get a picture :) After my little shopping spree, I headed back to Magallanes for some lunch & siesta. In the evening, I got ready to go out clubbing!

Met up with Ryan for dinner at Marcian's where I MUST recommend everyone to try the Woody Allen Linguini...THE BEST ever :) After a filling meal, we headed to The Fort to meet with my cousins - Ina, Tanya, Patrick, Tasha, Therese, & Jon. Danced away at Encore then headed across to Fuel Bar.

Grandma came over on the weekend & we had quite a car trip in the afternoon with tita Packay, Sabrina, & Audrey. The plan was to go to mass at The Fort. But when we got to the service road, it was traffic on both directions, so we turned back & headed towards the church near Mall of Asia. Traffic again...we were going to be late for mass so we decided to shop instead :) Tita Packay missed the entrance to the carpark, which meant we would have to go all the way around & get back into the traffic! We gave up & decided to go home, only to be stuck in more traffic! Sooo after 2 1/2 hours in the car, we ended up just passing-by Foodmart (which by the way is only 5 minutes walk from the house) to buy 3 tubs of ice cream. Ohhh boy...

The next day, I had lunch at kuya Paolo's & ate Bianca's condo with the Zosa family. Afterwards went to Posadas Village with Angelo & Ramon. Visited yaya Morit, & also got to catch up with tita Jenny, tito Chito, & Mica. Then to a baby shower just down the road with Ryan, before heading to the park to meet with Mica & Elaine. Before it got too dark, went back to the baby shower to see Mara, her boyfriend Mark, & also Myk.

Mara, the "GOOD" friend that she is, volunteered me to join the games...T-H-A-N-K-S Mara!!! One in which involved me having to down a small jar of Gerbers Apple Sauce (yes the baby food) with the tiniest spoon, you know like the one they give on the planes for your coffee/tea? It was disgusting...as if I was EATING juice, gluggy & just the weirdest texture! Dinner was spent at the Zosa's house with the family :) Good to know that nothing has changed in the past 16 years since moving to Australia!

At the end of the 2nd week., it was to be my last jog for the next 9 months. I'll be sending back my shoes & jogging clothes back to Australia. Now with everything in the box, Dayday accompanied me to the post office to send it all away. Back home, I packed the rest of my clothes into my luggage which I'll be bringing over to my uncle Paul's house in the afternoon.

In the evening I got ready to go out clubbing one last time. Went to a Christmas party at Underground Logic with Ryan. Then over to Encore with Mara & Mark. We really danced the night away here. Didn't leave until 4am, lights turned on & the music being played was Hanson's "Mmm-Bop"! Sooo much fun :) McDonalds for breakfast before going back home for a much needed sleep...

Late in the afternoon, I left Multinational for the last time in this trip, & waited at the airport for Joel to arrive. We then took the taxi to Magallanes where we would stay during our time in Manila.

The next day, we had lunch with my grandma, uncle Ricky, tita Tess, Amber, & Macu at a Filipino buffet restaurant called Kamayan. Super duper full...need to walk it out. Later on, Joel & I took the MRT to SM Mega Mall & met with mama Sony & Teejay. Then with Mara for some dessert.

Majority of the week was spent in Donsol. Flew out first thing on Monday morning to Legaspi with a breath taking view of Mt Mayon below us. We were told that the trek up the volcano has been cancelled due to it being put on level 2 alert. Instead our driver took us to the remains of Cagsawa Church where we were able to take great pictures of Mt Mayon. Next was about an hour drive to Donsol & our accommodation at Vitton Beach Resort.

Breakfast the next day, & actually every morning, was something Joel looked forward to; he got to have his beloved tocilog (tocino, garlic rice, & egg). We met at the tourist office for our 8am departure to swim with the butandings (whale sharks). Met Kate (an excitable Aussie from Melbourne), Chris ("I know everything" from California - no surprise there), Annah (who lives in Sydney but is from the Philippines), her over excited mum Xen, & of course our guide Roman :)

I was about to fall asleep, & we were all so relaxed while cruising up & down the coast. All of a sudden there was commotion amongst the crew & we were speeding up. Kate, Joel, & I jumped up & got our gear on & sat on the edge of our bangka. We waited for Roma's signal - OK! - & jumped in the water. Not knowing where to look or what to do, he said "Quick quick faster! Look look!" & when I did it was right in front coming towards me! The only thing I could think of was the 3-4m distance you must keep from them. So I moved out of the way & by the time I turned around, the only thing I saw was its huge tail just as it dived back down. The whole thing went so fast, I forgot all about taking pictures/videos :(

That bummed me out for awhile, because it's not a guarantee that you'd even see them. So up & down the coast again until Roman & the crew started getting all excited again. This time I had the camera on & ready no matter what! WOW! This next one was a lot bigger and hanged around much longer than the first :) I was able to take great pictures & even videos of it. We were swimming so close to it you could just tough it! Forget about the 3-4m rule! Roman grabbed my arm to get closer to it, he was swimming so fast I just hanged on. We got to swim with another 2 before heading back to shore. The following day however, when Joel & I went for another ride, we only for to see one during the whole 3 hours.

Back to Manila & the last few days were spent going on a shopping spree with the money refunded from the Mt Mayon trek, plus dinner with cousins & friends :)

Ubud in Indonesia was our next stop. Another early morning flight, with a stop-over in Hong Kong. Awww not feeling well...I even missed out on eating the plane food; something I usually look forward to. I just couldn't stomach anything...nothing for the next few days. The only thing I felt like eating was bread/crackers & water. Nothing else seemed to satisfy my stomach.

Staying at Nick's Pension for the week. We did a lot of walking, swimming, & this place is HOT! I was sweating like there was no tomorrow - that's no joke either... And when I finally for to try the local dishes I was hooked! Give me Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, Gado-gado, Chicken Satay any day YUM! :) Saw some cheeky monkeys around the Monkey Forest roads - go figure! Lots of paintings & sculptures there was no need to go to a gallery.

Not much to do here & I didn't feel like doing any tours. Just wanted to eat good cheap food & swim. I did end up buying a painting from a local artist named Tono W though. Very friendly guy, & his works were amazing. Went for a massage, scrub, facial, & get this - a MILK bath. Yeah...I can get used to this :)

Kuta was next, which includes the New Year. Well...I had high hopes for this place. We're staying at Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel in Legian. So there was a lot of walking which is always good. But it's the same thing everywhere...shops selling practically identical things, vendors popping out of nowhere trying to sell you everything under the sun. And I can not stand the Aussie accents & slangs they try to use to get your attention or even when they talk to you. I've never seen a traffic jam with just motorcycles before, not even in Italy! So that was amusing.

Went to the beach a few times - another let down. It was as if it was getting dirtier by the day. The rubbish is just rake & dump in a dugged up hole then covered over with sand. Rubbish & dead fish were aplenty in the water. This is probably close to swimming in Manila Bay, something you would never do.

New Year's eve was spent at the roofdeck of our hotel taking pictures of the fireworks around us. But besides that, it was a pretty quiet night. Our only celebration was lunch at a restaurant close to Kuta Square.

Now close to the end of our stay in Bali, I am yet to understand WHY so many Australians make it out to be such a big deal coming here. It's over rated. Australians & Americans everywhere looking like cooked lobsters or ripe tomatoes with their burnt skins. The beach full of fish guts, not the mention the dirtiest sand ever. I definitely won't be recommending Bali to anyone, & the only reason for me to ever return is to buy artwork in Ubud.

On a good note...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Manila - Baguio

2009-11-30T01:01:00.000-08:00

01 – 30 November, 2009

What – November is already over?!?!? This is just crazy! My daily routine since I got here has been getting up at 5am to go jogging around the village, shower, breakfast, TRY reading but I always seem to end up falling asleep again, it’s lunch time by the time I wake-up, then the afternoon is whatever happens...happens.

Don’t want to go to the malls in fear that I would be tempted into shopping for things I don’t necessarily need. Reading kept me busy a few hours a day, and when I finished all the books, I didn’t know what to do with myself. *SIGH* So I went to the mall...

At the beginning of the month, we had an impromptu invitation to stay over at the Ledesma’s house. One thing I love about the Philippines is the instant get togethers! By the time we left to go over, it was 10pm and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I know, I know you think it’s just my age showing, but don’t forget I was out the night before and didn’t get to bed until after 4am. I just need to get back into this, haven’t been out clubbing for a long time now, so give me a break guys!

Miki, and Francis were already there, and Christa arrived shortly after us. We decided to go for a drive and pick-up Anna, and Carlos. We got back to the house close to midnight. And as usual played card games with consequences, this time the lipstick came out to do some damage. Finally got to sleep around 3am, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t the first to do so. Hehehe

When I got up, Sab was just getting to bed, Audrey was already awake, and Miki & Anna hadn’t slept yet. Everyone started waking at around lunch time, but was way too lazy to get up! Then Carlos had this crazy idea of having his legs waxed, so Lora being the great friend that she is did the honours. YAY Lora!

After going back home, we freshened up and got ready to go out to the supermarket with Miki, Francis, & Anna. Who would have thought that a simple supermarket trip could be such a laugh! Though I think Anna was a bit embarrassed by us, I wouldn’t be surprised if she never asks us to join her again. Would this be right Anna? Dinner was at Pizza Hut, and it was incredibly cheap! A combo meal for one person which includes – ceasar salad, 3 cheese macaroni, & iced tea for only P100, that’s approximately AUD$2.50!!! They didn’t skimp on the servings either, I was definitely full afterwards!

The weeks that followed were spent planning the USA/Canada leg of the trip, and booking the rest of Europe hostels/transportation. I had a hard time figuring out where and how to get around the east coast of USA, and also getting to Canada. It looks like we’ll be taking Greyhound bus for trips between cities which is a good change from waiting at the airport and getting on a plane.

Before I left Australia, I had cut out a dress design that I saw in the “Sunday Magazine”. That dress costs over AUD$200 – I don’t think so! So I brought that cut out with me and went to a dress-makers here, and it turns out they can make it for AUD$60 – I definitely think so!!! The only thing I needed to buy was the material for it, which was again quite cheap. It will only take a week to have it made, perfect!

One Saturday morning I was invited by a friend – Ryan – to go jogging in Filinvest, then to The Palms Country Club afterwards. I got up at the usual time, and he came by to pick me up. We jogged just over 5km making a good time of about 30 minutes. Yes Elena & Peter “Wonton”, I know you guys are probably pros now and could perhaps jog circles around us. Hehehe. It felt so good afterwards to jog that much. Walked back to the country club for a swim, and lunch, which was more like a brunch since it was only 9:30am! Walked around Alabang Town Centre, before heading over to Posadas Village – where Ryan still lives, and as a kid, we also lived here. So that was my “healthy day”, minus the bubble gum ice cream I had after lunch. That jogging inspired me to jog further in the mornings, and even longer on some days.

I had plans for the following weekend, but had to cancel those as another childhood friend – Elaine, convinced me to go to Baguio with her and a couple of other friends. So...OK! I hadn’t been there since 2004, (see http://www.gobaguio.com/). Friday night, I took the taxi to go to Elaine’s house (also in Posadas). At first I didn’t think I was going to make it because the taxi company we rang sent to taxi to a different area, they couldn’t find any available to take me and it was already late at night. I was getting desperate, and didn’t think I’d be able to go, so waited outside on the street hoping one was on its way out of the village. Et voila! One came by within 10 minutes. Happy happy happy!

Took a short nap at Elaine’s, and left at 2:30am. Drove to Rockwell to Cecilia, and Leonie’s (both from France) condo, then we took the taxi to Cubao, and rode on the 4am Victory Liner bus to Baguio. It was an incredibly long ride, 8 hours! There was of course 2 stopovers along the way, but it was only supposed to be 6 or 7 at the most, there was no traffic either, and the driver was stopping for no reason! I couldn’t get any sleep, and I was sick of sitting down.

By the time we finally got to Baguio it was almost lunch time, and us girls were famished! Ok so not exactly famished, but hungry enough to eat buffet the whole time we were there. Hehehe. We stayed at the Baguio Country Club, which was just great! The rooms were spacious, food was good, bakery was YUM, and large areas to walk around. So much greenery, pine trees, and was a lot cooler than in Manila, and might I mention fresh air too?

After lunch, and walking around the club, we decided to head into the city. Walked around Burnham Park, here you can hire all sorts of bikes, there’s a large man-made lake where you can hire boats too. So many people! I don’t ever remember it being this busy. Walked to the markets, (where we all fell in love with 2 gorgeous puppies being sold) and looked around before heading back. We were supposed to play cards, but ended up just eating dinner. Stayed here for another 2 hours, we probably should have slept here, because the next morning we were up early and back at the restaurant.

Today was a nice lazy day. We walked to Camp John Hay, just 5 minutes up the road. Stayed here for majority of the morning, checked out the horses and was about to go to the butterfly farm when we were told that most died during the typhoon. So if you go in, you’ll only see caterpillars!

We took a taxi to a spa which was in the middle of I don’t know where, but it was definitely passed the city. This place was AWESOME! It had a great ambiance, and most importantly it was cheap! Only AUD$24 for a package which includes 1 hour of foot scrub/spa, 1 hr body massage, and 30 minutes of facial. It was the best way to spend the afternoon. Afterwards I felt like I could do just about anything! So you know what we did when we got back to the club? But of course we ate! It was Mongolian buffet. This turned out to be an eating weekend. Such good food though, even for a buffet.

The next morning, after breakfast (we decided to eat at the bakery instead) we left for the bus station and made our way back to Manila. Also bought some freshly made bread and cookies. This ride was much quicker and I went crazy taking pictures of the mountain sides, and rice terraces. It was a beautiful sunny day, what a great way to end our eating fest weekend. Plus I made sure the next morning to jog it all off!

A week later, another great weekend was about to start! Out to paint the town red with the Noel cousins – Ina, Tanya, Mari, Tin, and JR. Also met another uncle...oh I mean cousin (hehehe) – Jon from USA, and a few of his friends – Josh, Richie, and Ross. Tonight, we headed out to Bonifacio High Street, started at the Road House Grill for drinks, then to Ascend and danced DANCED the night away. So much laughter going on, these guys are crazy! We ended the night, or should I say morning with a snack at North Park Noodles where I had their absolutely yummy fresh mango tapioca, mmm!

And that brings me to the end of the month. I’ve now been able to finish booking all of Europe, arranged to change the flights across USA, and even booked hostels from New York to Sacramento. It feels good to know the planning is almost over; and I can finally fully relax and enjoy this vacation of mine.