Bergen, Norway

Made it to Bergen yesterday, after my Glasgow airport fiasco (which i'll save for another day) and meeting up with Helena. I met her 3 months ago while travelling around Vietnam and now i'm crashing at her place while exploring the city. It's great to have her show me around her city and avoid all (well, most) of the tourist traps :-)

Bergen is very beautiful and picturesque, framed by the sea and mountains. Helena and i took the funicular train up to Mt FlØyen today to get a great view of the city, and then a nice walk down through the woods. The air is crisp, fresh and smells of alpine - and no, its not the same scent as your car air-fresheners, funnily enough.

I'm going on a fjord tour tomorrow - another place awarded as a UN World Heritage site-can't wait.
Photos to follow soon.

For now, i'm trying to get by on my budget traveller's budget but my credit card is feeling the heat from all that constant swiping. It is a phenomenally expensive country and i can't seem to pay for anything without getting a heart attack each time.

Internet for 45 minutes - 50 kroners (about 6 euros)
Single bus trip around Bergen - 30 kroners (about 4 euros)
(Very very simple) vegetarian indian food in Oslo - 65 kroners (8 euros)
One day Royal Fjord Tour - 945 kroners (120 euros)

ch-chingggggg!! ch-chinggggg!

i keep imagining my friendly UOB bank is going to call me soon to tell me i've busted my limit. Better switch off my phone.

Musings on a tuesday afternoon

Back in the familiar city of Edinburgh. Enjoying the sunshine here, and as you know, they don't get much of it here so i'm enjoying the last days of summer here before i set foot in chilly scandinavia! I've always liked Edinburgh and visited several times as a student. It's been 5 years since i've set foot here. Flashback to Aug 2001 - i was a fresh, young enthusiastic just-out-of-school student and came here with my family after my uni graduation ceromony (Has it really been that long?!).

Now... i'm oldER, and hopefully wiser and.. i don't qualify for any more student discounts (@%$^&~) !On the bright side, having also just turned a year older recently (ouch), it also means i'm one step nearer to receiving pensioner rebates. One can only hope i still have the same health and vigour visit museums and mountains when i am 60.

I'm taking the opportunity to relax, recharge and get organised in Edinburgh before i start my round of scandinavian travels.

For the next 3 weeks, i'll be visiting bits of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Estonia. I am now relishing the thought of being on the road alone again. Of the 3 weeks i had spent in Spain, nearly 2.5 weeks were in the company of friends. Thankfully, our time spent together went well and we still remain friends. You know how some people go on vacation as friends but come back as enemies! Don't get me wrong, it has been great catching up and having a laugh with them but perhaps i have gotten too used to being on my own and having my "space".

As a solo traveller, i am being free to choose where i want to go and things i want to do without having to come to a mutual consensus. I take more initiative to meet and interact with locals, which i think is an integral part of getting to know a country better! I have also met some fellow travellers along the way who i now count amongst my good friends. And if i felt anti-social, all the better that no-one would have to suffer me.

When you are travelling as a pair or in a group, it is easy to stick to one another and not have to make new friends because you don't have to.

Anyhow, just a year ago, i would not have contemplated travelling alone because the prospects of dealing with solitude would be more than i can handle. How would i cope being alone ALL the time?! Would i end up talking to imaginary friends i.e. voices in my head?! Would i be a lost, pathetic-looking, nerve-wrecked tourist buckling under the weight of her giant rucksack while sussing out directions to her hostel?! Danger would lurk in every street corner, preying on my fears and insecurities of getting lost, or mugged or worse! Would my family have to suffer the consequences of my (mis)adventures? Paranoid thoughts along those lines surfaced on a regular basis before i made my decision to quit my job to go travelling solo.

In the end, it was a case of bravado and convincing myself nobody was going to stop me from living life the way i want to. No regrets, Yet.

Overall, it has been such a liberating experience stepping out of my comfort zone and overcoming (some, if not all) my fears. I didn't think i would enjoy constant solitude for such extended periods of time to the point i would actually miss it! Ha! Whats next? Bungee jumping and sky-diving!

Before i congratulate myself too soon, i should probably add that i can still get nervous about being alone.

There were occasions where i felt in need of a real conversation with my friends and not the box-standard FAQ of "Where are you from, how long have you been here, where are you going next" chat with fellow hostel-mates. I don't think they would listen to my whingeing or put up with my nonsense like my friends would! There have also been instances where i felt it would have been safer to be travelling in a group and i missed out because i was on my own but fortunately, these have been few and far between.

Been doing some thinking about what i want to do after my round-the-world tour. Initially, i thought taking 7 months off to do some travelling seems like a great solution to, you know, "get it out of my system". I'm halfway through now and it seems like i can't get enough of my big adventure :-) so i think it might be unlikely i will get rid of my wanderlust in the short term. However, i am sure when i get home, my bank statement will be a timely kick in the arse for me to go out there and find work.

So, here are my options for January 2007

1) Get a job, start saving up money, and be content with watching Discovery Travel channel in the meantime

2) Go back to school in Sept 2007, but get a job while applying for a graduate course.

You get the drift. There is simply no escape with having to get a job.

[to be continued]

Barcelona

Spent a fun 5 days traipsing around Barcelona with Karina and Annnah, my ex-workmates. I'll definitely go back again. It is such a vibrant, exciting city with eclectic architecture and style, great food (i'm Singaporean after all) and of course a great nightlife :-)


Casa Batllo - one of several surreal creations by Gaudi in Barcelona - pure genius! I'll definitely be back for more.



Even mannequins need raincoats. A rainy spell has arrived, a much welcome respite for me, if not for the rest of the city. I have had enough of steamy hot weather. Time for some cold and crisp fresh air please!!!

Sunday is bullfight day in Spain. Posters like these are plastered all over town and the Plaza del Toros. It is also shown live on TV and any bar worth its salt will be screening it because the local men are all glued to the adrenaline and excitement of the bullfight!

Spaniards definitely have a sense of humour. Notice the pair of white legs sticking out on the left side.

Trainscapes

Cows and shrubs on the way from Madrid to Zaragoza

Glorious sunshine and fantastic beach near Taragona, on route to Barcelona.

Toledo -ancient Roman outpost just outside of Madrid. It was taken from a toy train! (see below)

Killing the night in Madrid

The atmosphere is definitely different here in the capital - a lot more buzz and excitement. Having had my fill of cathedrals and fortresses in Andalucia, i decided to explore a different part of Spain - the art musuems and nightlife! I should have said "museum" instead.. because i only made it to one - the Museo del Prado. The musuems have only limited opening hours on sunday and i didn´t quite make it there... as seen from the evidence below from saturday night /sunday am..

Madrilenos live for the night, as i found out from Mariska - a Dutchie who has been living in Madrid for the past 5 years. They are always up for a party! Clubs don´t really get going until 3am -which is about the same time where clubs in Singapore are winding down. Closing time here is a bright and chirpy 7am. After that, if you are still feeling in want for more, you can proceed to an after-hours bar until about 11am. We started at midnight, with a delicious dinner that her friend Cecilia had prepared for us.


After a few drinks at the bar, we proceeded to Palacio Gaviria. Spain has so many palaces to spare they converted one into a club, complete with grandiose statues, ornate carved ceilings and such. Not that i was looking at the ceiling much. This one has some live er, entertainment.. [dad, i swear i wasn´t in a dodgy club ;-)]

Some random Mexican guy Miguel puckering up. He thought he was going to get lucky with Mariska and Roos.

With Mariska and Roos at El Mondo. The club is still absolutely packed at 6am. This happens on weeknights too.

Looking a little ghostly (and ghastly?) in the elevator.. i am blaming it all on the fluorescent lighting.

Back in Mariska´s apartment at 7.30am, in time for breakfast before bed. It will be another 24 hours before i fully recover.

Andalucia II

With Shaheen at the Real Alcazar in Sevilla. I got to know her in uni where we were hostel mates and i borrowed her vacuum cleaner one day. She then started frequently invited me over to hers for masala tea and the rest, as they say is history. We´ve had lots of fun over the past week travelling together and catching up . Don´t mess with this pocket-sized dynamo -she packs alot of punch -all 4 ft 10" of her -as i found out ; -) She also makes a mean pasta!

Seen in the supermarket... i wonder if your IQ drops by a couple of points with each slice.

Froddo-lookalike statue bearing the remains of Cristobal Colon (thats Christopher Coloumbus for us folks) at the Sevilla Cathedral.

Andalucia roundup

View of Sevilla centro and cathedral from the top of the La Giralda tower.


Beautiful gardens (this is just a small section) in the Real Alcazar in Cordoba.
This is a trademark of Andalucia - lush greenery and water features everywhere.

The Al- Hambra in Grenada -13th century palace/fortress -the showcase of moorish architecture in southern Spain.