A (18km) Walk to Remember... Samarian Gorge (27/07/07)

This day, I totally understood the meaning of 自找 and 自作自受. But at the same time, I'm glad I did this cause I probably would not want to do something like this again in future and it was a nice challenge for myself. So what happened?

I decided to go for a nice walk, or rather, hike down the Samarian Gorge, Europe's longest gorge at 18km. I saw a picture of it in a guidebook, and decided I should go check it out.


Pretty impressive huh?

So, I signed up with a tour, where the bus picked me up at 5.35 in the morning!!! I was deciding whether I should go for it after hearing about the early morning call and after reading reviews on it being a rather strenous walk. When I woke up at 5am, I was contemplating whether I should just go back to sleep... and forget about the insanity of it... But I didn't.


So, I found myself at the National Ppark of Samaria at about 8.20am. This is the starting point, some 1000m above sea level where I would then begin my descent into the gorge.


Descend right? Sounds easier than climbing up I guess. But at the same time, the paths are so threaded by visitors to the gorge that a lot of the rocks were smoothened out, hence increasing the chances of me slipping.

Initially, it was rather harrowing as I prodded each rock before I stepped on it to ensure that I would not slip. And that was when I was kinda regretting doing it. But when you are halfway down the gorge, there was no way I would want to climb UP the steps again. So, it was do or die... I had to continue.


I was rather amused at these scattered signs around the gorge cause there would be nothing I could do if a rockfall suddenly appeared. Like maybe put my backpack over my head? But not as if that could cushion the impact of the rocks.


This was what bulk of the paths I had to walk on look like...

The rock formations and the gorge itself is impressive. But there is a certain limit that fascination can reach. After that, it becomes indifference and acceptance.


But I did enjoy the experience of walking in the valley between the gorges.


Huge rock pile. and I actually slid down that huge rock which was taller than me.


There is a river/stream running through the gorge with clear water. See the rocks! At certian junctions, we would have to cross the stream by stepping on rock paths. And for a while, I felt like I was in the Fedex?/DHL? advertisement where the delivery guy was 'walking on water'. =)


At other times, I felt like I was doing an obstacle course by having to cross wooden bridges or logs placed across the river.


Finally, I reached the highlight of the gorge. The Iron Gates, named so because the with between the rocks at that point is only 3m. This was about 4km away from the end?


I was glad to see the check out sign! They do have a exit control so that they can keep track of the people still in the gorge.


And a random photo of a 'hugging' plant.

Overall, it wasn't as magnificant as I thought it would be. (Nothing beats the scenary of Switzerland. Ha! I'm biased!) But I think it also had to do in part because of the temperate of Greece. It was very dry, so it was rather sandy with little greenery. Like I said, I was amazed at the rock formations. But at the same time, because I was watching my step so guardedly, I saw the pebbles/rocks on the ground in front of me probably more than what was around me. The good thing was it was shady in the gorge due to the shadow cast by one side and it was pretty windy which was a good thing.

So... a good workout for me and a memorable experience!

My 'Wonderful' Greek Adventure...

Don't get me wrong.. I do like Greece, or rather, Crete, the island I was on. Found myself in a small town, Rethymno with iteresting streets to explore, a nice beach where I spent my afternoon just lounging around and a memorable 18km hike through Europe's longest Gorge - The Samarian Gorge which left me aching all over...

But, thinking of my travelling time to and fro Crete is laughable. I took 32 hours to get from Crete back to St Gallen. That means it is more than 1 day on the road. Let's detail how I did it..

28th July 2007

1500 - 1600 : Takes bus from Rethymno to Chania
1600 - 1730 : Figured out how to get from Chania to Souda, the port where I was supposed to take my ferry from
1730 - 1900 : Sat around, had dinner and rotted while waiting for boarding
1900 - 0600: Was on the overnight ferry back to Pireaus, the port at Athens.

29th July 2007

0700 - 0800: Bus from Pireaus to Athens airport
0800 -1030 : Rotted at the Athens airport while waiting for check in
1220 - 1355 : Flight from Athens to Milan Malpensa
1410 - 1500 : Baggage collection (There was no customs check at the airport. So lax can!)
1510 - 1600 : Bus from Milan Malpensa to Centrale Stazione (Main Train Station)
1625 - 2105 : Train from Milan to Zurich
2110 - 2215 : Train from Zurich to St Gallen
2230 : Home Sweet Home!!!

Long huh?

Goodbye Prague! Hi Greece!

Well.. I really like Prague. Went to the Old Town yesterday and earlier today and did bulk of my souvenir buying. So I am now a happy happy girl, with a heavier luggage though. Went to the Bone Chapel on Sunday. And surprisingly, it kinda slipped my mind that I had visited it before when I first came to Prague about 5 years ago with VJChoir. I mean I had the feeling I had been there, but it wasn't confirmed until I stepped in and saw them again. Weird huh? Maybe I just chose to repress some memories.

But Prague did bring back memories. Old Town Square - although they didn't have the stalls in the square - The stalls are located along another street now. Even the glass ornaments didn't change much - I saw the glass globe, flower and bird I got the last time I went. The springy wooden ornament and the flapping parrot as well. Then I remember walking along Wencescles Square, the hot dog stands. And of course the metro stations were still the same. Only difference is it is summer this time around.

So Prague was nice to walk around - I like winding through the side streets, popping into shops and looking at the stuff they offer. And I think the blown glass ornaments are very pretty.

Ok... so now, I am spending my the last few hours I have in Prague, using the internet, courtesy of my hostel, Plus Prague Hostel. It's pretty good with decently clean and big enough rooms, nice reception staff.

It's 4.45pm now. My flight to Athens is in 7 hours. Yeah... I'm flying into Greece at the wee hours of the morning, following which I have to psych myself up for an overnight ferry ride the following night to Crete, the largest island (and the most South I think). Well.. at least I know the experience of staying up to rush papers will aid me with coping with the lack of sleep. :)

Tomorrow will spend a relatively easy day in Athens - planning a bus tour before heading to the port to wait for my boat to Crete - Rethimon to be precise. And since I don't exactly look forward to lugging my 17kg (or thereabout) luggage to Crete, I will be be rid of it pretty soon as I plan to leave it with a luggage storage service at the Athens airport - will only be bringing a small bag to Crete.

I guess my luggage is the only dampener on the whole trip. I can lug it around pretty fine, but at the same time, it is annoying and tiring. Well... just have to move it 3 more times. (once to Prague airport, the second time to Venice, and the last one back to St Gallen). I do get rid of stuff, but at the same time, I do my souvenir shopping which adds weight to it.

Well, I did get tougher on this trip, learnt how to be more independent, learnt how to navigate better with maps, being more willing to try new things and made me a better planner. At the end of the day, this whole exchange has stretched my boundaries - made me do things I never thought I would be able to do. And the best part is I'm having fun throughout! :)

Day 12 on the road...

I'm happily settled in Prague now. As my sis puts it, I'm no longer roaming in Rome.

Anyway, I wrote this yesterday

=====
There are days when I wake up, counting down to the end of this trip.
Today, it is 14.
And then I think, 14 days means 2 weeks,
And it is way too short.

4 and a half months of travel and exchange,
Ending in a mere 14 days
How can it be possible?
=====

Yeah.. it kinda sums up the way I am feeling now. I can't wait to get home, but yet, how can it all end so soon?

So, for the past 12 days, I sat through an overnight train journey from Switzerland to Vienna, an even longer bus ride from Vienna to Warsaw. A couple of flights in and out of Rome, and I'm 'back' in Prague - my first European city.

Anyway... Rome... is overhyped. Maybe it is the sweltering heat - 32 degrees with no cloud covering is not funny! I go back to my hostel feeling sticky everyday! And in the day, the room becomes an oven! Everything will just get heated up which means warm shampoo and shower gel. Hahaha... - good way for wet clothes to dry though! However, nights in Rome were cool... which was good - if not, it would be unbearable to sleep in the heat!

Ok, to be fair, Rome is nice. To have a building like the Colosseum standing, other ruins and the Vatican City makes it an appealing place for tourists to Italy to visit I agree.

BUT.. and its a huge BUT. I found Rome too touristy for my liking. It is a very 'in-the-face' feeling as every corner I turn, I see a souvenir stand, many artists sitting by the road side selling their water colour paintings that look alike since they are all of the Colosseum or of cherubs.

Not to mentioned, I did feel like I was at a pasar malam with the number of roadside stalls being set up, all selling sunglasses, hats and fans. And then, prices in Rome are exhorbitant!!! I wouldn't mind paying (like in UK) if they were reasonable. But 4€ for a 500ml bottle of Ice Lemon Tea is ridiculous. They were obviously trying to rip tourists off! and that was what left a bad taste in my mouth. I have been to other cities which are touristy - Paris, Munich.. but I don't feel as ripped off as I did here. So yeah...

I did enjoy Rome actually... but it is hard to pull out the like factors cause they are overshadowed by the negative factors like the weather, the price and other stuff... But it was a good experience I would say. At least Rome will not be on the top of my 'cities to revisit' list that soon.

Anyway, I stayed at this campsite hostel thingee in Rome. Another first for me. It was a distance from the city centre, but we had a shuttle that brought us to this train station and from there, we would take about 20 mins to half an hour to get to the city centre. Saw a lot of mobile homes, tents being pitched as family spent their summer holidays there. It reminded me of a chalet actually - those in Pasir Ris to be precise.

Well... guess that's all about Rome... To visit or not, you decide. My advice is to go in Spring or sth where I expect the weather to be cooler.

GAh!

Heh... I deleted my travel schedule by accident! OK.. it's cause i tried clicking around and I can't understand Polish. Smart hor? And I tried changing my dates and voila, clicked sth that removed the whole section.

Well... if I have the time and patience, I will add it in slowly another time.

Anyway... I'm skipping Florence, thus spending close to a week in Rome. We both felt that it was better so as to save ourselves some sanity and energy (from lugging our baggage to and fro Florence). Plus, there's always the next time.

Krakow, I feel, is much nicer than Warsaw, albeit more touristy. Maybe it's cause I didn't really have a chance to see the Old Town in Warsaw due to the weather (it started raining 15 mins after we got there and we had a train to catch, so we decided to go back to the hostel where we met with the nice, bright sun!), but the Old Town in Krakow was nice. I spent 6 hours walking there today!

Well, glad I decided not to go to the Concentration camps though Yishan went. Think it would have spoilt my mood for the day and perhaps the next. It's just too unsettling for me. But I had a good day too! Finally, today feels more like summer summer with the sweltering heat. The past few weeks have been wet, gloomy and cloudy. I was out in Warsaw with my scarf and jacket most of the time, attracting the comment that I looked dressed for Winter. Hahaha...

Next stop: Rome!

Greetings from Wien (Vienna)

OK... so I'm leaving for Poland tonight... but I'm doing some research for my thesis topic in WU (pronounced vey-oo according to the German alphabet pronounciation) or Wien University while Yishan goes to run errands.

Well... 'living out of my suitcase' days have started. And my suitcase is heavier than I had imagined. But i'm hoping the weight will miraculously drop once I start using the toiletries and what not.


Just a random snail that I thought was pretty nice looking. (Pretty pretty sounds weird!)


And I leave you all with a picture of me picking strawberries from my garden.

不舍得，舍不得。。。

It feels wrong if I don't post this... I'm leaving Switzerland tonight! Check the side for my (hectic) travelling schedule. Will update if I can...

It's been an enjoyable 3.5 months... I've learnt a lot, seen a lot, experienced a lot.. and now, a new adventure awaits...

And somehow, this song just comes to mind...

Leaving On A Jet Plane

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn
The taxi's waitin', he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again

It's hard to say Goodbye...

... to the wonderful wonderful place which has been my home for the past 4 months.

Yeah... that was the thought that hit me when I was about to bathe. No more Tara (the dog), the 2 cats which up till now, i still can't figure the name. The view of the garden from which I look out to from my room. The nice garden where my landlord grows his own vegetables. I've picked strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries and blueberries from there...

The walk to school, the bus up the hill. Shopping at Migros at least once a week...

But there's a time for everything. As this chapter closes, another adventure is waiting to begin - a one month trip around Europe! and after that? More stuff to do back in Singapore...

Ok.. need to get back to work... will reminisce another day...

Gah! Das Wetter ist schlect!

It is not funny when it rained in Bellinzona, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland where the weather there is supposed to be sunnier, when I was there yesterday.

It is not funny when it starts to hail in July, when I'm in town with a big bag of groceries and wearing my birkenstock.

The weather is bad! But the forecast is that it will be better in a couple of days time. Yay for that!

*Yay!*

Last exam today... Yay! Always glad to come to the end of the semester even though I still have to work on a paper for one more module... but will be done tomorrow...

Travelling around Switzerland this coming week... Interlaken and Geneva from tomorrow night to Saturday. Rheinfalls on Sunday. Tuesday to Lugano and Bellinzona...

My term in Switz is coming to an end soon.. Gosh!

bzz... bzzz... bzzzzz...

There has been a housefly buzzing about in my room since yesterday... and it is just plain annoying. Guess this is what summer and spring brings... insects.

Have opened my window to let it fly out, but it's not taking the bait! Darn!

And I feel that my reflexes are so slow compared to that lousy, miserable, puny fly. Everytime i try to smash it, it would invariably escape... and I can sort of see my hands moving in slow-motion (as compared to the fly's motion), clapping or slamming an empty spot. Sheesh. why do I even bother?

Lunch is beckoning... Hungry!

Update Update!

I was asked for an update.. so here I am...



Heh.. as you all can see, I didn't grow much taller...



but I've been eating well... Jap food!





and ice cream...



and cake! This is a Sacher Torte, one of the specialties of Vienna.

Hahaha.. yeah.. these were the photos taken almost 2 months back when I visited dear Yishan in Vienna.



I have been drinking well... Nice cup right? This is a nice drink called Bellini. It's alcohol with peach syrup/flavouring.



And I went to a winehouse? called a heuringer... where they served wine in cups! instead of the wine glasses. Had something fruity and light!

And here is a picture with Yishan... :)



And now, two months down the road... I am busy with projects, and papers and studying for exams. Time flies... this whole exchange is going to be over way sooner than I expect... I know I will miss St Gallen, my cosy room up the hill...

In addition, have been planning for my end of semester trip... Made some last minute changes to the itinerary like removing Budapest, spending more time in Greece and making plans to head out to Milan and Venice after that.

The scale of this trip is slightly daunting as I would be travelling for close to a month... but I'm looking forward to it. To the many wonderful cities I know I am going to visit. To wonderful adventures, to learn new things. This is beyond my wildest dreams... Anyways.. looking forward to a safe trip...

And of course.. looking forward to going home after that. :) Although I can safely say I will definitely not welcome the heat. But it would be nice to be home. To not have to do laundry, or think of what I have to cook although I do enjoy cooking. To be home with family. To hang out with friends... especially after hearing about your new haunt and of course KTV! Will be home on 4th or 8th Aug depending on whether I can get on the 3rd August flight. Wah! See I so patriotic.. rush home before National Day! :)

So now.. more Vienna photos...


a random clock tower


remnants of the castle gates


heh.. a nice fountain. I always have a soft spot for water features. Likes how the pigeons seem to be part of the sculpture. But yeah.. the birds are pretty much alive.


A random zebra painted car which I thought was quite cute


Sunset in Vienna


St Stephan's Dome. It looked like a cardboard cutout when I first saw it.


I found a hanging traffic light quite amusing!


Horse Carriages


Dinner with Taina and Yvonne, Yishan's friends


The summer palace grounds. I want to go up the hill to that arch the next time I go to Vienna!


Took this train to Buchs for my connecting train to Vienna at night... The words look blur ya... I always thought my eyes were playing tricks on me... until...



I took a closer look and discovered that they painted the letters in varying shades of grey to produce that effect. Those sneaky designers!!!

Ok.. and that's all folks! Heh.. so this is one bumper post down.. many many more to go... There's still Berlin - with loads of photos and stories, my visit to Heidiland, Yishan's visit on my birthday, excursion to Engelberg and subsequent trip to Lucerne and of course my one week getaway to UK and Spain. and Cheryl's visit!

Think I can finish posting before I leave St Gallen?

Busy Busy Busy...

After all the travelling, chilling and fun for the past 3 months, it's time to take a break from all that and move back to work. Yep.. have been busy with writing papers and doing a presentation this week. Well, at least my brain gets kicked into gear before I go back to Singapore.

Speaking of which, I realise I'll be leaving my cosy home in St Gallen in less than a month's time. But I'll only be back in Singapore 2 months from now. Needless to say, I'll miss this place.

So.. that's the end of my quick update.. Cheryl's coming tomorrow! Yay!!!

Hola!!!

That's 'hello' in Spanish. :)

Back from UK and Spain... Glad to be back @ St Gallen... yet, i enjoyed almost every minute of my trip...

Loved UK cause
1) I met SHWEN!!! Woohoo!!!
2) Everything was in English
3) I had good chinese food! - think dim sum, egg tarts and roast duck!!! *drool*

Didn't like the weather that much though cause it rained everyday I was there... it was miserable... :) But overall... nice! :)

Spain... or rather, just Barcelona. Mango factory outlet... i didn't shop much though... Other than that, Barcelona is a 'chill' city to me. Spent one afternoon at the beach - but it was quite cold. Hmmm... went to a fresh food market where I love the fruit juices. Nice just walking around and having fun. :)

And after a short plan ride, and a 4 hour train ride, I am back in the comforts of my room in St Gallen. Tired. Sleepy. Updates soon.

Happy happy!

Gillian is a happy girl today. Despite having a class from 9 to 6!

Why? Birthday dinner at my place... hahaha

Look at the wonderful spread... We had... hmmm... chinese soup, fried glass noodles (tang hoon), fried rice, curry chicken, aglio olio, ham pastry and apple puff pastry and red bean soup. Yummilicious! Not to mention loads of fun...

It was also like a mini Asian gathering... from left to right, Yoo Jin from Korea, Yvonne from Singapore, Lei from China, Joy from Taiwan, Glenn from Singapore, Sea and Charlotte from Hongkong. Mel is missing from the picture... think she was checkign on her fish...

Heh... my cake! and it was a blackforest ice cream cake! me likes it - have been craving for blackforest cake for some time. Glad I got to eat it today. Thanks a lot everyone! Really appreciate everything!

Now... gotta *groan* do some case study reading for my class tmr. It's from 8 to 5! Help!!!

A visit, dinners and fun!

Dearie Yishan came over from Vienna on Tues, after a long 11 hours bus ride to spend a couple of days with me. :)

So far, it has been loads of home cooked food - yummy dinners... fun with shopping (I bought a bag and a jacket!) and just chatting. We invited a couple of my housemates to join us and they loved Aisan food! :) Hahaha... oh.. and we had fun just chatting, playing games, enjoying wine and dessert after dinner.

Tomorrow, going for a walk around my place... going to places I have never been to... sounds great! loads of nature stuff I think... Going to bed soon... and yes.. I will update on SuUnday. :) where I plan to stay home and enjoy the special day!!!

Procrastination...

Was planning to update my blog with photos of Vienna (finally), Berlin and Heidiland! But ended up straying to do other stuff... Updated the photo album though... so you can go see the pics first... :)

Just checked the weather forecast.. It's 5 dec celsius out there now! Isn't that supposed to be a temperature that is usually encountered in Winter? The next few days will be equally bad.. with rain and temp between 5 and 12 deg.

Back from Berlin...

Heh... Got back about 2 hours ago from a eating and shopping spree... Berlin was great! Hahaha... but the weather sucked though. It was raining everyday for the 4 days I was there!

Erms... I also don't really know what I bought... but mainly food stuff to bring home (read: chocolate and fruit tea) and now i'm wondering about how to pack them into my luggage in 2 months time.

And I always seem to do a spot of toiletries shopping when I'm outside Switz. Maybe cause I think the things are cheaper than in St Gallen. This time, I actually bought washing powder and shampoo back. Interesting huh? The random stuff I get...

Oh.. there is a 1 Euro shop in Berlin! cheap and nice stuff.. but not very applicable for me. Haiz...

And I got yo catch live tennis! Hahaha.. it was fun! and had a spot of fan-girling when the people you have been watching on tv is just like inches from you. Great! More updates to follow! :)

Suffering from a bout of 'blogstipation'... So many things to write about, so many pictures.. and here I am, whining pathetically about the weather...

Have to leave for school soon... and I don't feel like dragging myself out of the house. Why? I see how the leaves on the trees outside my room rustle with each oncoming gust of the ferocious wind. The slightly overcast sky...

But I will put on my power coat.. and trudge to school.. battling the weather...

It's feeling more like spring now. Temperature in the low tens... More rainy days... which are good I guess for the crops and stuff, but not exactly ideal for someone who has to struggle to school. I exaggerate.

At least I get better protection from the sun with the overcast skies.

Leaving for Berlin tomorrow. Guess I'll update Vienna after I get back... Hurhurhur.. Now to get to class...

Random photo...

Just a random post on a slow day...

The sun's a bit bright nowadays... so bear bear decided to put on sunnies! :) Erm.. pardon the mess...