Solo kia

Yay!! Back from my first solo trip of 10 days! I must say I really enjoyed the trip alot although there were moments of sian-ness. I guess there are pros and cons as to travelling alone. For example:

1. Able to set my own pace without worrying about others. Cos I tend to chiong alot. Usually wake up 7.30am in the morning so that I can head out early. Helps that with the longer daytime until 9pm, so that means I can get to cover alot in a day. However, also tiring in a way, cos if there were friends arnd, the pace would be slower and relaxed to a certain extent.

2. Challenging to travel on my own. Obtaining train timings, figuring out map directions, as well as gathering information on the spot, especially when it's in a foreign language. Gives me a bit of self-satisfaction knowing that I managed to do all these on my own. Only screwed up once on the first day to Amsterdam finding directions to my hostel...and it's no joke carrying all my stuff and trying to find my way abt in the evening. (Moral of the story: Don't trust the directions written in HostelWorld too much...might just end up staring at a canal!) But then again, it would be nice if there were friends to share the burden a bit..at least hor lan let's hor lan together mah!!! :p

3. No travel companion about = nobody help me take photos!!! Esp. crappy photos with my crappy poses!! Haha...I had to drag other ppl to help me take photos. And the prob is that usually the photos do not turn out looking good cos most ppl anihow take de...I even had cases where the person pointed my camera the other way arnd...hmm....I usually target tourists in groups or single travellers like me too to help take photos....met some interesting personalities like this on the way though....:p In addition, my zi4 pai1 skills have improved liaoz....hahaha!

4. With no travel companion to talk to, can get a bit boring at times. So this time i tend to talk more with strangers and other like-minded travellers on the journey. Met several ppl along the way, ranging from Americans to Germans, and especially in Luxembourg, there was this helpful German guy who helped orientate me so that I could plan where to go and at the bar, just chilled with the other travellers to watch the Euro Cup. Although in the end, it still does not compare with having a good friend or somebody u know travelling with u.

5. Safety-wise is always an issue, especially when travelling alone. So tt means being extra careful and alert at all times...at least in a group of friends, can help watch out for each other....like even simply leaving the bag for a while to go to the toilet (I always lug my whole bag into the toilet..hahaha!)....can also get tiring at times having to be aware and alert the whole time.

Haha.....so these are the ramblings of a first-time solo backpacker....now onto the trip itself...a short summary before posting pics and blogging..(damn.....so much backdated stuff sia...)

1. Amsterdam's a very very interesting place. It's the sex and weed capital!! So the Red Light District is really amusing to walk through, and especially so when u get everybody under the sun (or moonlight), from old aunties and uncles in tour groups to giggling couples, to groups of ppl travelling together, horny men, curious tourists all walking through the district. Other thoughts include Holland being a very bicycle-friendly place...perhaps the best so far. And of course, the countryside with its windmills are amazing....only thing lacking was the tulips.

2. Brussels...ahhh.....a bit disappointing cos the weather was bad...was raining the whole 3 days in Belgium. And I simply did not like the architecture and layout of the city. It's noisy and cosmopolitan, with a mix of weird new-age structures beside the old quarters....just simply weird...the stuff that made up for all these were of course Belgium desserts!! Waffles, fries, chocolate...yum!! And of cos comics!!

3. Belgium was not all that disappointing though...Ghent and Bruges were very pretty places....and really medieval towns. Bruges is prettier than Ghent, but a tad bit too touristy, whereas Ghent was more quaint, and had its own uniqueness from the huge central area with the Belfry and 3 cathedrals lined up. Bruges had the Basilica of the Holy Blood though...and I thought that was interesting cos it's supposedly said that the relic stored within holds the blood of Jesus Christ. Other than that, the usual Belgium delights like waffles and candies kicked in. :) And I even met Eric in Bruges.....I mean...how cool is it to meet your primary school classmate in Europe..and at all places in Bruges? Very coincidental yet nice at the same time!

4. Luxembourg is really unique. I have never seen a city like this...built upon several plateaus and cuts right through a valley. So this means the city has virtually several sub-levels that it is really possible to get hor lan here..and really tiring to walk up and down the place. Looking down from the top with most of the ancient fortifications intact, felt a bit like in Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings!! Heck u could even take an elevator from the bottom plateau to the main central at the top!! Simply unique!

5. The other countryside towns in Luxembourg were a delight too! Especially Vianden, cos the backdrop was so pretty. And because there was a chairlift to the top of the hill! And I have never sat on a chairlift before!! After that, it was a more relaxing day out in the countryside.

Ok....so these are my thoughts for my trip...now that I am back in Loughborough...it's back to mugging for the last 2 papers!!