Europe Photos at...

http://rockieshoots.multiply.com/
enjoy.

There And Back Again - A Traveller's Tale

I'm home. Been so for almost 12 days now.

What I never fail to start off with is to explain why I ended earlier. The story of the evil fren and the unforeseen abandonment.

But what I remember is:

- The wonderful breakfast we had on the 1st day at Frankfurt
- The magic mushrooms from Amsterdam flower market
- The hailstones near the Eiffel Tower, and the indian touts that swarmed all around it
- The shifty backpacker place, the pickpocket, and the maze of streets at Florence
- The Colosseum, Circus Maximus, and the homely Bed & Breakfast at Rome
- The surprisingly comfortable (super) ferry rides to and fro the Adriatic Sea
- The disgusting incident at Athens
- The gloomy beach & friendly people at Schinias, and the frighteningly deep "hot" spring outside Athens
- The brownish-green waters of crumbling Venice
- The wild rugged scenery at Slovenia and Croatia
- The perplexed border guards at Slovenia and Croatia, thanx to a never-before-seen red passport
- The stripping of a CPU in Zagreb, and the unfinishable carbonara
- The beautiful studio apartment and old city centre at Split, and my 1st fish in weeks.
- The clear blue waters off Hvar, an eyeful
- Feeling lost and helpless on the way to Munich
- Feeling free and relieved on the way to Innsbruck
- Being shocked that I'm staying at the 4star hotel
- Feeling very lonely in my 4star room
- The totally unprepared hike up the 1st mountain I saw from the road, and the lovely couple who brought me down
- Cowmine!
- The sterile, characterless hostel at Vienna, and the unhelpful staff
- The rickety, cramped, dirty but fun caravan at Innsbruck
- The guided hike round the valley, thru flower-strewn meadows, gravel slopes, conifer forests
- My first touch of snow
- My hesitancy bunking in with a friend at Frankfurt
- My sadness when I was about to leave
- The children I played with
- Making up Chinese characters and hoping I wldn't get found out
- Getting immensely bored of cities
- Feeling horrified to know I was cooking the ENTIRE dinner for my friend's family, and not 1 or 2 dishes as I earlier thought
- My relief when they loved my cooking

Paiseh, all these must be very boring to read. Especially when there's so much, and all in point form. But be relieved that I'm not going to sit you down and talk about everything that's happened - it is definitely more than this list of highlights.

I leave it here for me, so i don't have to strain my eyes to read the infinite scribbles in my journal.

I come back, hopefully, a better person. more thankful, more appreciative, more kind, i hope.

Amazing what good 5 weeks, and some money, can do. Compared to 5 years, and a whole lot more money. hahah.

I'm glad I've gone away, coz it makes things back here seem so much better.

Its like an enlightening dream. It doesn't really change anything, but you see everything with new eyes, and hopefully better equiped to deal with a new day.

Time to wake up.

Abandoned In Austria

Well... I DO feel kinda that way.

Now i´m travelling solo, and cutting my trip back by 2 weeks. Details of my flights:

Frankfurt - Bangkok
29 June TG 923

Bangkok - Singapore
30 June TG 411

will probably touch down 2-3pm SG time.

What happened? I´m not too sure also, coz it all happened so fast. Let me try to recall here...

Yesterday in Zagreb, after signing off from blogger, I went to meet zo and jo for dinner. There zo didn´t know how to tell me but told me anyway, she wanted to go home. For those who dunno, Jo´s flight is today. I asked zo if she had decided, and she said yes. She said she missed home, her bf, tired of travelling, mum is sick, blah blah blah... sounded just like a lot of excuses. Of coz i was pissed lah. but how to argue against a ´parent sick´reason? I don´t doubt she´s lying, but maybe there´s more to it.

Anyway the night train ride from Zagreb to Munich was tense... I didn´t sleep much, coz of the uncomfortable seats, the rowdy world cup supporters, making sure no one disturbed the 2 girls and feeling very very lost.

We had it all roughly planned out, and I was looking forward to travelling with one fren instead of two acquaintances, u know how its like when 2 good gal pals are together. the odd guy out is totally ignored. And suddenly i was being abandoned. I really didn´t know if i shd continue with the plan or go back with her.

I was feeling lost all the way until at Munich airport, where zo was queueing up to change her air tickets. I looked at the plan and realised some places just wldn´t be fun alone. So to save money also, I decided to cut Poland and Hungary out, and cut Vienna really short.

So now i´m staying in Innsbruck for 2 nights, going to Vienna for 1 night, then back to Innsbruck for another 2 nights before Frankfurt 2 more nights, then flying home.

Once i got a plan out, i didn´t feel so lost anymore. And actually after i kinda told zo off abt pang seh-ing me so last minute (she did ´hint´that she was homesick but never explicitly said she wanted to go home except once, when she seemed like she was joking), and after i ended our trip together on a less sour note and bid goodbye to them, i was feeling great. I don´t have that much time alone, yet i can go see the stuff i wanna see in austria, without needing to take care of the girls and put up with them. they do irritate me sometimes.

But now, sitting here banging away on the hotel´s laptop in an absolutely swanky room (the website must have made a mistake - this is a 4 star HOTEL, not hostel), with TV, fridge, bathtub, 4 cupboards, 3 chairs, etc etc etc (better than Bangkok´s Asia Hotel, misa) i can´t help feeling lonely and missing them. a month together, and now i´m all alone. sigh.

send me an sms now and then, ppl.

Zagreb Again

Does anyone even read this? Hahahaha make some noise leh!! Else i might as well just stick to a pen & paper journal.

Been rushing around a lot. will have more internet time in Austria, where hopefully its not too expensive.

Zagreb Unplanned

Paiseh ah, long time never update. After Rome I went to Athens, Venice. Internet Access at these places damn expensive, and not much time to play also. short entry here coz internet cafe going to close soon

Now in Zagreb, an unplanned stop at capital of Croatia. coz we missed a train, gotta take overnight one.

Internet guy told us they're closing liao. so gtg liao. hahahah

photos will only be up when i'm back home.

In Rome!

I'm in the city which once conquered more than half of Europe and parts of the middle east and north africa - Rome! Unfortunately no one wears togas, little leather skirts and carries pointy spears around anymore.

How Do You Reconcile 3 Different Objectives?

To Zo, Rome means the Vatican City - the heart of her religion. To Jo, Rome means Shopping! + a must see landmark called the Colosseum. To me, Rome is the heart of a once great empire, of which only the Colosseum is left.

How do you explain to them that it is more that another landmark in a city far far away, that in your pre-teens you had raced chariots, fought gladiators, and clashed with armies outside its walls? True, it is only a computer game, with poor graphics at today's standards - but you learnt so much, felt its ancient glory, read up on life in those times half a world away. When you played, you were here, 2000 years ago.

And now all that are left are ruins. Abandoned, accidentally damaged, purposely pillaged. Once magnificent gleaming marble stripped from its walls, exposing ugly bricks and mortar. Rusty iron clamps grip pillars tightly to prevent them from crumbling further. And half of the outer walls totally gone. And that is just the Colosseum.

The Roman Forum, where Caesar was murdered is just an empty field littered with old marble pieces. The palace at Palatine Hill has, at most 20% of its walls still left, with only 1 corner giving some clue of its 5-7 storey height. Its Roman Baths are taken over by weeds and moss, with warnings around some structures to vacate once there's rain or strong wind.

I was surprised and delighted that the Colosseum guide told me there was a good view of Circus Maximus from the Palatine Hill - The venue of the famous chariot races of Rome. But when i got there, I could only stare at the empty bowl of grass and rocks - Worse than the Colosseum, worse than the Forum, worse than Palatine. It was completely gone. I think i had a ticklish feeling at the back of my eyes. All Gone. stripped of its marble, iron, bricks and mortar; its stands, its statues, its walls. and built over many times at the years passed.

I felt 2 thousand years too late.

===================================================================

Worry is The Most Exhausting Emotion I Know Of.

Yesterday Zo and I went to the Vatican City, leaving Jo to do her shopping. I wasn't as interested in the Vatican, but since I'm here, might as well accompany her and see the place. The day started pleasantly enuff. We queued for the Vatican Museum for a short half hour, and chatted deeply quite a bit; something that's harder to do in a grp of 3.

The Museum wasn't that impressive though, but maybe coz we're sick of Museums already. The only astounding stuff we saw were the Raphael Rooms and Michaelanglo's works. Too bad no Leonardo, Donatello, Splinter and Shredder stuff. HAHAHAHAH!!!

But seriously. One of the best paintings I've seen to date is Raphael's School of Athens. In it you see various Philosophers arguing, debating, writing about what they are famous for, all in various poses - diversity in the same act. Raphael even did a self potrait in a corner of the painting. I like little touches like that.

But nothing beats the Sistine Chapel. Serious. Using light and shadow effects, Michaelanglo tricks the eyes into believing the flat surface of ceiling and walls, cleverly covered by paint, is 3 dimensional, filled with cornices and statues of angels, with intricate hollows filled with statues of popes, and carving of men and women on the ceiling in uncomfortable poses. Even the tapestry painted on the lowest walls look real at eye level until you touch it. Now that is what painting shd be about. Perspective. Not those crappy modern art thingys.

I stumbled out with an aching neck and boggled mind, tired of trying to figure out what was real and what was not. I didn't see Zo in the chapel, so I assumed she went out before me. I staggered thru the remaining long, boring corridors in a blur, pausing now and then to rest my legs and see if Zo would show up. When she didn't I figured she must have gone on ahead.

So I went to the cafe and called her - no response from her hp. Smses went unreplied. I started to worry. So i searched the courtyard where we said we wld hv lunch, the cafe, and even backtracked to the Sistine Chapel (which was not allowed), all the time getting more and more worried. Maybe she got tricked and kidnapped? maybe her problematic knee peng san and she cldn't walk?

After abt 1-2 hrs of searching I made my way out and waited outside the museum exit, reading my book to pass time and staring hard at any pink top for signs of her, half expecting her to show up with a sheepish grin on her face. But she didn't. I had no idea how worried I shd be - she's able to handle any normal situation, but what if the situation wasn't normal?

After 2 hrs of sitting, endlessly looking out for her, and pacing the area, she called me. Her hp had totally no reception in the Vatican, and she was making her her back to the hostel after going thru the museum AND St Peter's Square. Well, she WAS very apologetic. I was too - I shd hv stayed with her thru out.

I turned towards St Peter's Square, but after so much worrying, i was exhausted. I couldn't even remember how we got here by bus. I turned and headed to the Metro instead, stopping by for coffee and a very late 5pm lunch, which i couldn't eat with all that anxiety earlier.

But somewhere between her bus ride back and to the time I got back, Zo changed her mind abt the incident. She was nonchalant abt it, and we both had conflicting versions of what transpired - we supposedly were outside the museum exit at the same time. And i didn't get to see St Peter's Square. Exhausted and slightly irritated, i flopped on to bed and slept for 1 1/2 hrs.

Oh well. at least the nice chinese dinner we had warmed things up again. anyway its under the bridge - today is a new day. And hopefully the day i see St Peter's Square.

Bloody Italian

I'm burning away Euros coz i cannot understand the farking italian words on this computer. 2 hrs and i only burned 1/2 my photos. CCB. Frustrating and tiring. but i MUST not vent it out on the girls. I will get coffee to sooth my frustration.

Yes... coffee later... ahhh.... can feel myself calming down already...

Paris & Florence

In a bustling internet cafe in the main bus/train station in Florence, Santa Maria Novella, struggling with unfamiliar keyboard and with a CD burner that's frustratingly long to burn.

Might as well start from Paris.

Took a train via belgium to Paris, and checked in at this rather ulu budget hotel - the nearest stop is at the end of the metro line. but its ok coz metro is pretty fast. like any city, paris is easy to navigate. Went to eiffel Tower 3 times in 3 days, took numerous photos. Actually the best day was when the 2 girls went to disneyland. I woke up slightly later, had a relaxed breakfast, went to see the historical sights i read about, and took my time getting the right settings for photos.

Heh, guess cat is right... I àm quite a different person from anyone else... so being alone is enjoyable. I feel more freedom, no need to wait for anyone, no stress of anyone waiting for me... i can get a cup of coffee whenever i want, linger as long as i want. But i guess its different when ppl are more significant.

Unfortunately, cant rem much abt paris liao. hahhah... just that the ppl are mostly nice, although there are some idiots who will give u a hard time if you dun speak french, and surprisingly theyàre all in the tourism/service line. 1 ticket seller shouted at a poor jap girl because she cldnt speak french OR english... and she gave us a difficult time as well. Another one was a usher at the eiffel tower. I asked her about ticketing and she said, in perfect english, "i'm sorry i don't speak english." stupid bitch... who u think u're going to kid?

Anyway, Paris does have many many wonderful monuments, easy transportation and it's still a living city, more locals than tourists, unlike Florence. Most ppl are nice too, and i managed to learn a bit of French. It's a damn cool language lor... If i go back, i wanna learn... hahah. Pity things are damn expensive here... S$8 for a cup of coffee!!

Saw: Eiffel Tower, Napolean's Tomb, Mona Lisa, Bastille, Obelisk of Luxor, Arc de Triomphe, etc etc etc.

Florence:

it's so damn irritating to burn CDs when the whole interface is in italian.

we couldn't get the train we wanted out of Paris so we had to take an earlier one. which is good since Paris is so expensive. The night train was ok - we shared a 6 bed cabin with 2 canadians, the girl was frenly but the guy wasn't. Later, they bickered abt where to get off. I was supposed to take the top most bunk (3rd from bottom), and i jokingly objected, then the 2 girls decided the top was fun and took the top 2 instead. they shdnt take me so seriously sometimes. but oh well.. on top was safer, so I didnt kick up a fuss. but on top does seem quite fun.

The hostel we got in Florence actually kena piping system problem, and sent us an email which i didnt check. Heng i had called to change the booking to 1 day earlier when in Paris, and all the guy said was yes yes ok ok, so he cldnt back down on us liao. So he explained on this 1st night, we wld sleep here, 2nd and 3rd night wld move somewhere else.

All doors that open to the streets in Florence are HUGE - at least 2 storeys high. looks grand but coz the buildings are old, inside is actually quite shabby. our dorm had 6 beds from different sources, all squeezed together in the room with minimal space for moving, and no lockers were provided. kinda in secure, and there was no lock on the dorm room door, nor the toilet. the guy changed the sheets of the bed while we watched... the room was messy and littered by the previous guests. i didnt trust the sheets so i slept in my sleeping bag that night.

We met Zo's fren and her frens, a group of 9 who were told upon reaching that they didn't hv a place to stay after that night, coz the hostel had to be closed for repairs and Florence was full of tourists. So they had to travel off to somewhere else. heng we change dates and called the hostel 1st!

We are REALLY lucky due to the change in itinerary - we reached on Italy's national day, public holidays mean all museums are free! so we spent 3 hrs queueing at 2 museums - 1 held Michaelanglo's David, the other had an exhibit solely on Leonardo da Vinci. fascinating, but too many museums + too little sleep = brain over load. I stumbled thru the final quarter of the da Vinci exhibit, down all the hallways to find the 2 girls waiting for me near the exit.

The next day, which was yesterday, we took a break from all the museums. After moving our bags to a new place, which wasnt ready yet, we went to the hill side over looking Florence - magnificent views of the city and the mountains beyond - the city is in a valley. The view of red roofs, grassland, farmland and distant peaks under clear blue skies is damn tok kong! too bad no time to climb the hill crests... had a nice dinner on the hill top, bought cheap groceries, and visited a small cosy church. Just outside the crowded city but very very different, much more real - more locals less tourists.



Getting really damn frustated at burning italian CDs.


Met a beautiful italian girl near the church, with a gray haired father. She caught my eye and smiled sweetly but shyly, and pretended not to notice. She hestitantly walked to the church steps and sat down, and played with her hands. Her father saw me smiling at her, and smiled back at me as well, to which i asked if i could take her picture. As soon as the shutter clicked he said "500 euro." and we both laughed. To my question, he replied that she was 2 years old.

Today we slept in late, and went to the other hill side to take more photos. then went around look for internet cafes until we decided on this one. so now still frustratingly trying to burn CDs.

BTW, we're making use of the honesty system in buses to go around florence for free. here u buy tickets in advance and then get them stamped in machines on the bus, which are front, middle, and back. of coz we always board from the back, and stamp the already-stamped-2-3-times tickets away from the driver. we are so evil... maybe this slow CD burning is my retribution from Florence.

Lesson learnt: dont take so many photos! (yah rite)

Another lesson learnt: i am seriously addicted to coffee. before i get it for the day, i can be cranky towards the girls and confused about streets and inattentive to wat ppl say. i guess no hope liao... hahhaha

Frankfurt & Amsterdam

I'll start from the beginning. Day 1

Short flight to Bangkok followed by waiting at Bangkok airport KFC and waiting area playing asshole taidi. Followed by an absolutely boring 11hr flight to Frankfurt. If I''m not going back home, it's coz I can't stand another 10+hrs sitting in a tiny seat, blocked from the screen by a big head of hair. At least the company made it bearable.

Reached frankfurt at 8pm, but it's still bright here until abt 9-10pm, and sun rises really early. it's bright at 6am, although i hvn't woken up at dawn yet. Took train to Frankfurt city from the airport, where a really nice lady working in a pastry shop showed us all the way to the ticket counter. Vunderbar (wonderful in german). Made arrangements to go Amsterdam the next morning, then checked in at the budget hotel 50m from train station. Actually the place is rather quiet and safe. Ate a pizza for supper with Zo, at a place run by indians. turned in as early as possible, after catching a bit of South Park in German.

Day 2.

We ate a hurried buffet breakfast and caught the morning train to Amsterdam. Played taidi but soon the weak coffee wore off and had to sleep. stoned for most of the 4 hr train ride. after some failed attempts, decided not to get frustrated in trying to take photos of scenery. Reached Amsterdam but forgot to book tickets to Paris at the train station, too busy getting to our budget hotel by tram. Again, in a quiet and safe part of the city.

Quite an enjoyable day in amsterdam. Went to the flower market, where i bought a present for mum, and some *ahem* magic mushrooms. Then went to the largest park here, Vondel Park. Then went to the market area to buy dinner, then went back to hotel, ate mushrooms (Jo didn't like the taste, so I ate most) and ate pasta for dinner.

As dinner was finishing the walls started to move a little. I lost appetite. I don't really remember exactly the sequence of events after that, but I felt cold, sat in bed, scribbled in my journal abt wat i was experiencing and sent out a number of inane SMSes. Laughed a lot, behaved stupidly, while Jo laughed and Zo sighed. Didn't help that i have low tolerance for anything unhealthy, guess i lost points with them liao. oh well. It's all about the experience, that's y i'm here. After numerous attempts at falling asleep and not thinking too much abt it, i finally did.

But one main thing that kept my mind going was: should I be so concerned about control? when should I start loosening up a little? but if i make myself loosen up, isn't that still a form of control? If i keep to my natural controlling self, I'm not controlling myself too much, am i?

yup. magic mushrooms make you think like that. Go try.

Day 3.

woke up with slight hangover. slept some more and woke up 10am. went to train station after a bread brunch and forgot to bring train tickets to book tml's train to Paris. once again, lack of coffee made things worse. Pissed with myself, and too stoned to make things better. Heng the counter lady was understanding enuff to go thru with the reservation.

Went to countryside to see windmills, canals, marshes, ducks, sheep, cows, chicken, ate free cheese samples, drank not-bad coffee, ate nice apple pie, took lots of photos. cheered me up a little, cheered up even more with coffee.

Then on the way back Zo & Jo mentioned they wanted to go clubbing in Paris, maybe with their fren and her bf who were already there. that got me kinda worried, and my dad's words of warning (which i brushed off) went thru my mind: "you going there with 2 girls ah? liddat you got a lot of responsibility u know." I thot it wldn't be a problem coz they seemed well travelled.

So i'm worried, not that they can't control themselves, they seem sensible. but i'm worried that these blardy ang mohs can't. esp when asian girls can be considered exotic, while asian guys can be considered outcasts. somemore they so big and fat, I don't hv a v good chance against anyone aggressive. My main tactic wld be to grab their balls HARD. So i'm worried because, in spite of what they say, i DO have a responsibility towards them and if they go clubbing, I HAVE to follow, if only to protect them against unwanted advances, and getting hospitalised in the process.

Oh well. I do hope they understand my concerns and not go, but from what they said to me i doubt it. So i can only hope we don't attract too much attention. If this blog isn't updated in the next 3 days, do send me an SMS to check if I'm still ok. if not, you can look up the singapore embassy in France at www.mfa.gov.sg.

Anyway the rest of the day was spent wandering into an old church to see world news photo exhibition, the red light district (in the day) and wandering thru the confusing streets and canals of amsterdam. sat down and enjoyed the quiet, then watched inane MTV in the lounge.

signing off now, take care guys. tomorrow morning, Paris via Belgium.

remember, 3 days.

A Green Turtle Approaches...

...Levels Out...

...And I Swim Alongside

Unicorn Fish

Unicorn Fish Up Close

Triggerfish

Top Side

Down Below

Spotted!

Between Dives

Clown Triggerfish

Check out the mouth and white streak near the eye... like clown rite?