Athens (Greece day 6)-14th May 2008

Yes it's your birthday WENX!!

I arrived back at the hostel that I stayed at around 7:30 a.m. Logged on to the free internet service in the hostel to reconfirm my flights etc. This was more like a transit day for me. I have 2 connecting flights. From Athens-Milan then Milan-Stockholm....

The thing about traveling by myself is that I meet new people almost everyday. You can also say that when you travel alone, people break into your social circle more easily because they will start to initiate conversations with you etc. When I was traveling with Kim, neither of us see the need to meet people. However, I won't say we didn't make any friends at all. We did make friends in Munich and we even chatted with policeman along the way. But most of the time, we just did everything together.

This new friend of mine is from freaking ROMANIA!!!!! I actually met him on the day of the walking tour (he's a staff at the hostel) and chatted a bit. But we talked more on my last day in Greece because the internet connection was down and I couldn't use it. He had to wait till 9 a.m for the walking tour. When I mention about Romania, most people would just scratch their heads. Who on earth in Romania travels? haha.. Or rather it's always shock when someone you meet comes from Eastern Europe. haha.. Like the Argentinian, he has a degree too. But no one values his degree I guess... So he flew to Greece hoping to find some job opportunities and I guess hostels are the easiest.

Levis is damn atas in Athens!

I am kinda impressed by what he told me. He wants to go to China around August to live there. It aroused my curiosity because he is the first European that I met who expressed interest in Asian civilisation. He wasn't just blabbering nonsense. Imagine he was able to ask me questions in Chinese?! Of course he isn't as fluent and can't pronounce as well as us native speakers but I give him a pass for that. I've met people from almost all over the world now.

North America.South America.Eastern Europe.Western Europe.Pacific (Australia).Asia of course!

Wait till I get to Africa to meet some Red Indians and Antarctica to find fellow eskimos yeah! hahaha....

I headed to the shopping district supposingly for a walk and window-shopping. But my impulsive personality took a toll on me as usual. I couldn't resist the urge to buy those greek slippers and my usual HRC stuff. Fortunately the slippers are not too expensive, just 12 EUR. But to some others, that's considered spendthrift! ^-^

By almost 11.30 a.m, I was sick of the place already and since I didn't feel like walking around further, I headed to the airport in hope of MORE shopping and of course to help OMMA to find the Ferrero Garden chocolates.... I tried Athens city.Athens Intl Airport.Milan Malpensa.Milan Bergamo but sorry Omma, I couldn't get them. I think I need to go to a grocery store in Italy to find them but apparently my flight connection didn't allow any chance to get to a supermarket in Milan AT ALL. But, there's always france.spain.portugal which I can head to. So just cross your fingers and pray hard they have them.... :)

Hong, does that ring a bell to you? Athens airport! haha..

Their toilet flush is damn cool. You push the bottom half to get the water gushing out and you gotta push STOP otherwise the water will just keep flushing.
I went to this museum in the airport and saw these! Apparently, there used to be civilisation on this area that has now become the airport. So the authorities built a museum right inside the airport. These are measurement weights anyway.

In conclusion, I just spend my last day of the trip flying 2.5 hours then taking a 2 hour bus and back to a 2.5 hour plane.

Once again, from the plane!

Sun set from the run-way.

Home Sweet Home Stockholm~!

Before I forget, I must tell you guys about air-turbulence. I never experienced it before until this Greece trip. Apparently, air-turbulence is extremely frequent in the Italy-Greece route. I don't know why. Maybe it's because of the sea? The plane jerks really hard and becomes really unstable when you have air-turbulence. Now I understand why some people have fears for air-crafts. When you are air-borne, there's really NOTHING you can do if you experience some accident. You COMPLETELY have NO CONTROL over YOUR LIFE anymore. But for the sake of roaming the world, I am willing to take the RISK. :)

Corfu (day 5)-13th May 2008

Jinghao's birthday?!

I had to pull myself out of bed by 8 a.m so that I could shower and check out by 9 a.m exactly! I wasn't sure if I would ever meet Leigh again so I left her my email and facebook contact. If I ever get to Canada, she says she will be MORE than WILLING to accommodate me. I am sure she will be there by the time I am ready to visit Canada. haha.. Getting to North America is costly unless I get another exchange opportunity which is near to impossible. So wait till I have a steady income, I'd head there for sure. :)

Decide to have breakfast by the beach, read a book, see the tides and enjoy the warm weather. Initially, everything went as planned. 1 hour later, it started drizzling and my plans were screwed. I decided to go for the Quad Safari tour but god knows they needed my driving license! Obviously, I didn't bring it, not even a photocopied one. I didn't have any intention to drive around in Europe anyway. So I wasn't allowed to rent the quad safari. Anyway, the tour was cancelled when it started drizzling so no regrets. :(

Breakfast by the beach....

I spent time chatting with another lady from Wales instead. How cool can that be right? haha.. It was a nice chat honestly. You learn different perspectives from different people of different nationalities.. Politics, Culture, blah everything under the sun. After 2 hours or so, both of us got pretty lethargic and guess what? We did some exercise when the rain stopped. We walked around the small villages that ply the island. The weather was cooling so it helped us a bit. By almost 3 p.m, she was tired so she headed back to her room and me, being homeless now headed down to the beach once again.

Clear, blue sky!

The villages from the top...

Armed with my Sun Bed, I laid on the beach for 2 hours. There wasn't much sun so it wasn't considered sun-tanning. Read the book I'd with me, listened to my Ipod, watch the people around me. What a different travelling experience!

Sun covered by the clouds.

By nightfall, I headed back to the main hall and catch a bit of television. The next interesting character appeared. The Brazilian reception guy. He was on a scholarship to North America to study architecture 5 years ago. But after graduation, he didn't manage to secure a job in North America. So he headed back to Brazil but like I share about Argentina before, education doesn't equate to success in South America. He likes traveling so he came to Europe and got a job as a receptionist. He has some Italian origins so he applied for European citizenship and am waiting for it. Once he gets it and saves up enough, he will either go to Copenhagen or Stockholm to do his Masters in Architecture. See? People of different walks of life once again!

Look at those waters....

The weather wasn't that good and these 2 guys just went out with their canoe. BRAVE!

Sunset at Pink Palace.... ?

I start to feel I am so protected and lived in a nutshell for the past 21 years!! Without SEP, I would never have such encounters. He did what I described the alternative way of traveling around the world. He told me at certain point in time, he did think of just heading back to Brazil and get a job, learn to be contented with simple fare but his desire to see the world held him back. I love this Chinese saying from a song,

"每一段路，都是一种领悟."

Every step you take in life, every decision you make entails some form of learning in it. Like the rainbows that I mentioned before, don't surrender to the bad days, yeah?

After dinner, I once again hopped on the Pink Palace bus back to Athens. Yet another bumpy ride but I couldn't care less. I just need my sleep... :) Goodbye, Pink Palace!

One last look at Corfu Town. Is this sketch nice honestly? What do you think?
I personally like it!

Corfu (day 4 of Greece)-12th May 2008

The booze cruise was on today!
I skipped it though.
Instead, headed to Corfu Town for some sightseeing.
Had to catch the 9 a.m bus from the beach to the town.
Rushed for breakfast and boom....off I head to take the public bus..
Don't ask me why.
I travel to meet people.
Not to get drunk. :(
Plus, though I'd really like to try cliff diving
I wasn't insured.
I don't want to get involve in any accidents. *Touch Wood*

Small town-everyone is so nice and friendly.
I discovered something about Greece.
Greeks love Peach!
I saw a million peach-related products.
Even Liquor!
I am curious to buy and try it but on 2nd thoughts
I didn't. haha..
It's a 200 ml bottle for 20 EUR.

New town.

Old town. It always seems like the Old town is in a better shape than the new one. Why? Preservation works. :)

Was really surprised to see haagen Dazs in Corfu?

Peach-related products. Mostly alcohol.

Old Fortress!

By noon, I more or less finished walking around the old town and parts of the new town
So decided to rest in the park.
Sitting beside me was this English lady and we had a great chat that afternoon. :)
She's from somewhere near Birmingham and she works as a manager for the traffic accident department in the hospital.
In summary, she oversees the deployment of medical staff for traffic-related A&E.
Tough job, irregular working hours but GOOD PAY.
She's 52 this year!
Guesss what?
She flew to Singapore in January then to Australia.New Zealand and SAIL from there to the GREEK ISLANDS!!
So you can imagine how RICH she is!
I am surprised she has actually been to Singapore honestly!!
She told me she spent CNY in Singapore at Chinatown.
I told her I spent CNY in Manchester in UK.
What an irony.
Total switch of roles. haha..
We chatted for almost an hour! I didn't realise....
Until she told me it's time for her to catch the bus back to her hotel.
It was really nice meeting her.
We shared a lot about our own country, our culture, our beliefs etc.
Once again, the reason why I love traveling.
"Meeting people from all walks of life. :)"

The lady helped me took this photo. That's how we started talking. :)

Pigeons being fed.

These kids were just running all about after the pigeons. You won't be able to see anything nice. But if you scroll through it quickly on my camera, you will just see their movements. So CUTE!

The BUS TERMINAL !

After she left, I headed to the Old Fortress of Corfu Town since my bus back to Agios Georgios is at 2:30 p.m.
Nothing much since it's been deserted for ages.
But it was definitely a good day out.
At least to me, better than the BOOZE CRUISE?

By the time I was back in the Pink Palace, it was almost 4!
Once again, headed to the beach, hang around a bit, totally relaxed!
The whole idea about my greece trip is this..
It's meant to be a really RELAXING one...
Do away with the hassle of walking all the time....
Spending each and everyday in the most relaxed way possible
Just lying by the beach for the Blue skies.Clear oceans.Sand-filled beaches. :)
But of course, Agios geogios is not the nicest beach in Greece.
I heard Santorini is the best!
There's also Mykonos, Meteora, Cypetes, etc...
However, island-hopping is not that easy because the rides on the ferries are long. :(

The surroundings....

To make it even more like a resort vacation
I rented DVD in the evening before dinner.
The movie- "I am Sam."
Chris recommended me this movie years back
But I never watched it.
It seems like I never had enough time for myself back in Singapore.
Totally touched and in awe of the storyline.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND everyone to watch it.
The movie really sets you into thinking about the many conflicts in real-life.
Just to name ONE.

When you love someone (not just boy-girl relationships, but kinship and friendship),

Should you be by his or her side to watch him or her, to company him or her through the journey of life, to build the most precious memory the 2 of you can have OR

Should you walk out of his or her life because people around you including YOURSELF feel YOU can't give him or her the best.

I don't know the answer.
It's a tough decision I know.
Watch that show.
Put yourself in the shoes of the Sam and then the judges.
What would you do?
Honestly, what's best for you?
What's best for me?
How do you measure the quality of life?
By Money? By Happiness? By amount of friends you have? By success in your career?
Everyone has a different weight.
I just want to live my life the way I want.
That's what I think IS the BEST.

Back to my room after dinner, I met this really cool room-mate of mine.
A 40-year old Canadian lady, divorced with a 15-year old Son.
Spending 2 years away from Canada is what she's doing.
Her son will be staying with his ex-husband.
Why? Because it's high time his ex-husband does his duty as a parent.
Believe me, all these stories that I am telling you guys are real.
I am not writing a script or writing a novel.
All these people are real-life characters.
She's spending 9 months in Europe before she moves to Asia then the Pacific and back home.

Me.Leigh just before Dinner.

It seems weird but I hit it off really well with her.
We talked about almost everything in our lives that evening and after dinner.
It's as though we've known each other for ages but actually we've only met that very day.
Things started to get hilarious at night when she tried to call her son on the mobile.
Her son was in class when she called.
The teacher was lecturing away and his son's classmates got really excited when she called.
They were like, "Where's Steven's Mom calling from?"
It wasn't the best demonstration as a parent.
But if I were her son, I'd feel damn cool!
She was telling me she wouldn't be surprised if her son's teacher send her an email or give her a call the very next day to demand an explanation for that. :)

I asked her,"What gave you the courage to ignore everyone else's criticisms about you leaving behind your child to travel?"
Her answer was that everyone else's criticism did not matter.
How her son and her parents felt was more important.
I agree.
In fact, her parents and son were both supportive.
Yeah, from a daughter's point of view, if any of my parents decide to do that, I'd be in full support mentally right now but financially in future when I have a job! :)
All their lives, they have been slogging for us, their children.
They are not robots. They need to rest, need time for themselves too.
So people, high time for you to do something for your parents be it mentally, physically or financially as a child. :)

After chatting for almost 2 hours after dinner, we headed to bed.

Corfu (day 3 of Greece)-11th May 2008

Let's talk about the bus ride from Athens to Corfu first. It involves a ferry transit in between for 2 hours. The bus ride was the worst I've ever had. The ones I had in Vietnam were even better than the one to-and-fro in Greece. I don't know if it's due to the size of the vehicle (a mini-bus), the whole journey was super bumpy. It's as though I am traveling through the desert. :( But I couldn't care more. I need to sleep! 4 other Australians and an Englishman on the bus totally couldn't sleep and they just kept chatting away while I was sleeping.

Anyway, talk about this cool Australian couple that I met. They are around 26-29 I'd say (I didn't ask their age but I estimated from the events that they told me.) so they have quite a huge amount of savings for this Europe/Africa trip. God! They will be traveling for 1.5 years till their savings run out. This is one way of traveling. An alternative that I've come across is people who work and travel at the same time.

I admire people from both categories deep from my heart because traveling round the world has always been my dream, even till today! But the thing that's holding me back is the lack of courage to leave behind everything in Singapore. You have no career to talk about, you become homeless when traveling etc. Your home is the backpack that you carry around all the time. Honestly, I did consider that as an option after graduating from Polytechnic. I even look at air-stewarding as a potential career option. But, I am caught in a rat race ain't I? My responsibility to improve the economic well-being of my family does hold me back I guess.

Alright, more about the places they went to! The girl has some relatives in Naples, Italy so Italy is definitely on their agenda but gosh, they traveled around Africa prior to this!!!

Places that they have been to: Syria.Turkey.South Africa.Zimbabwe.Namibia etc. I am so impressed when they told me about it. They did road trips in certain places in Cape Town etc. It's so COOL!!

71 thinks:"Hmm, I need someone who's good at navigation as my partner?"

Yes, backpacking is tough because you don't get enough sleep, you are on a budget, you can't buy whatever that you want etc but the experience is beyond description. It's really a test of your physical and mental tolerance. I love challenges like these!

I heard a lot about turkey when I was in Greece. I guess the physical proximity between the two countries is one of the reason people hop from Turkey to Greece or vice versa. Everyone says Istanbul is beautiful, people are nice etc. To me, anywhere except your hometown is nice because they are fresh to you, isn't it so? But French are exceptions. Their country is so beautiful that no one can beat them to it. I've a new dream-to live in Paris some day in the near future. However, I must make sure I learn my French well before I can do that.... :) can't wait to go to FRANCE!!!! J'adore la Francais! :)

Too much crap in my post about Corfu. I've been talking about everywhere except Corfu huh? Upon arrival at the hostel, The Pink Palace, we were all offered Ouzo, traditional greek alochol! I downed 2 shots. Why? Because I didn't know we had to wait for everyone to drink so I drank it the moment it was offered to me and the receptionist made me drink the 2nd one! It BURNS your THROAT seriously. We had rice wine when we were in Vietnam and I thought that was strong enough already. Wait till you get your hands on Ouzo, you will totally FAINT! I wanted to buy a bottle back to Singapore but I can't bring it in. Sorry GuYs. :(

The great thing about this hostel is Breakfast+Dinner are both provided! Of course there isn't much to do there, you have to spend money and make use of their facilities like Quad-safari, 4-wheelers or go on their booze cruise. But the moment I got my room key, I just headed for bed. I didn't want to think about anything else.

By the time I gain consciousness, it was already 3 in the afternoon!! Headed to the beach, sit around and at 5 p.m, headed back for some real football action. Like I mentioned previously, the crowning of the CHAMPIONS!! Lalala, Man Utd added another title to their collection. Applaud Gigsy for his 10th one! So now Man Utd has 17 titles on hand, which is one less than Liverpool's 18. But looking at the possibility of Liverpool gaining another title within these 3 years, which is nearl to impossible, Man Utd should be able to overtake them any time. Now, eyes on the Champions League Finals. I doubt Man Utd will win. Moscow=Russia=Abramovich's turf, isn't it?




Think about this. Fulfilling your dream in the place you call home brings the sweetest memory, am I right? Abramovich has been eyeing for CL glory ever since the day he bought Chelsea over. Now that the finals is held in Moscow where he belongs, what makes you think that he wouldn't want it? MONEY TURNS THE WORLD AROUND ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO FOOTBALL.... :) So people, you know who to bet on huh? hehe...

Dinner was FAB FAB. Soup, Salad and Main Course. I met the group of friends whom I am supposed to meet during dinner finally! A sense of guilt arose in me because I left the group of Australians and 2 Canadian girls who companied me the whole day after I met up with my friends. I didn't mean it but it's just that I don't feel easy with them. That's unusual of me because I usually mix with people of all age groups. I think it's spending power that sets us apart. All of them were drinking bottles of wine when my friends and I are destined to have beer since we are poor students and kids. :( So I slowly drifted away after dinner.

No party for that night because it was Sunday and everyone was recovering from the crazy Toga party the previous so it was bed-time by about 11 or so. :) I missed it.

Great Food!!

Athens day 2-10th May 2008

Definitely a tiring day for me. :)

I woke up at around 8 a.m, went for breakfast near the hostel. I ate all sorts of pastries. They do have GREAT pastries honestly. LOL. I decided to join the walking tour for a fee of 13 EUR because I was too lazy to navigate by myself to the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Ancient Agora, the Olympic stadium etc.

The tour wasn't really that great honestly. Yes, it did cover all the major sight-seeing sights that I wanted to be at but there wasn't much information provided. The guide simply brought us to the site then gave us 20-45 minutes depending on how huge the place is. That's it. But he's a nice guy. I talked to him during breaks or when I reached the meeting point earlier than scheduled and that's how I dig out stories from him. haha..

Athens in Ruins.

it's the Library of ..... Can't recall the name anymore.. hahaha..those greek names are just too complicated...

I know this is a picture from the tower which they use to determine the wind direction. It's shaped like an octagon and each side of the tower has some god-like structure.

He comes from Southern coast of US and apparently, his fiancee is Greek which explains why he is staying in Athens. He majored in Ancient Greek which explains his interest in this country.

More interesting people I met along the way....
1) Argentinian who works in London. He shared with me a lot about the state and situation Argentina is in. Of course I am interested because I have this SABF Business Forum which I am eyeing to go and he provided me with a local perspective. Everyone's getting out of the country. There's a brain drain. Why? Your income is not tiered to the level of education you get. You may have a medical degree but don't be surprised that you are working as a receptionist. :) That's Argentina!

Catch the beautiful skies of Athens! Aren't we supposed to be looking at the same sky? Why is that Singapore doesn't have such clear blue skies?? Or is it because I never bother to lift my head up to look at them. People, do it and tell me about it! :)

Not the Parthenon! It's a temple. I can't remember the name as usual.... haha.. Please forgive me

2) Family from Western coast of Australia. A family of 5 traveling in Europe for 2 months on a backpack! Gosh! That's the most adventurous thing that can ever happen. But never with my family I think. :) The dad was super energetic though he's like 55 already but the mom and daughter were restless most of the time and they left halfway on the tour. The other 2 sons apparently skipped the tour completely because they had a hangover from last night and his dad could openly tell me about it. I doubt that will ever happen in Asia?!

The Parthenonic way they call it. It's not the Acropolis from afar. It's actually the 2nd highest point in Athens (after Acropolis) where you have breath-taking sceneries. Look at those broken pieces lining the way. Apparently, there used to be a wall that leads all the way up to the Acropolis along the parthenonic way. Somehow, it was shattered into pieces by war.

Before I reach the peak. I had to climb these really slippery steps! Scary..

Yes, the Acropolis in the background. In ancient greek times, people live by the Ancient Agora while priests live at the Acropolis. The Acropolis acts as a fortress of Athens. Whenever the city is being attacked, the Acropolis acts as a shelter. During the 2 world wars, the acropolis suffered much bombing too, either by the allies or the axis powers.





3) Couple from Florida. This guy had been to Europe to backpack a year ago and he kinda like it. So this time round, he brought his girl with him. I would say he's quite meticulous. The girl was walking beside me and we were chatting about traveling and the guy will always turn behind to check on her from time to time. He would ask her questions like "Are you still doing well?", "Do you want some drink?" etc. Though I find him a bit judgmental and biased against Asians through my conversation with him, I applaud him for his concern for his girl. :)

All about the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Back to the sites that I visited. Most of Athens is in ruins today seriously. Yes the government are making efforts to restore and preserve this heritage but frankly speaking, it's not enough. The countless invasions and wars over the years had landed the country in a devastating state. Stones lying all around, destructions etc. I believe more can be done honestly. :)

The spot to take photo. You capture the Acropolis right in the middle. :)

Oh yeah, watched the Change of Guards for the palaces. It's hilarious. The change of guards takes place every hour and each procession takes around 30 minutes. That means that each shift lasts 30 minutes. The most hilarious thing is the way the guards lift their legs and march. See the video!

See how high he lifts his legs! haha..

Last but not least, everyone knows Athens is where Olympics originated from. I went to both the Original Old Olympic Stadium and the newly built one for the 2004 Olympics when the torch returned to Athens. It's amazing! The new Olympics Stadium was not part of the tour. I went there by metro by myself.

According to the guide, the original Olympics stadium was built by some filthy rich merchant with an interest in sports. Really? I don't know if he's just bull-shitting. haha.. It's a simple ground honestly compared to all the extravagance spent on building Olympic stadiums around the world.

Where the Olympics originated.....

I would say I was pretty lucky because usually entrance into the new Olympics stadium is not available most of the time. However, there were some international games and competition going on so the stadium was opened! Sure enough, you needed a ticket to get in. I explained to the security that I am a tourist so he was kind enough to let me in for FREE and take some photos for a few minutes. :)

Football Stadium

Outdoor Swimming Pool

Indoor one.

Catch some swimming LIVE!



The new Olympic Stadium! Ongoing Basketball Match.

Headed back to the hostel by 7 because I needed to catch the night bus to Corfu. Short and Sweet day. :)

The sightseeing tram.

All the fake goods for sale. If you need one, tell me. :)

The BEST CHOCOLATE PASTRY I've EATEN in EUROPE so FAR. I don't know how to describe it but the moment you bite it, you will have the same sentiments as me. It's FREAKING DELICIOUS!