Saturday, September 17, 2005

Phhfffffff.... (Europeans like to do this when they are lost for words). Finally.. the first part of my travel is drawing to an end. In less than a month, I have been been to so much places, experienced so many things and met so many interesting people. Now.. I am hours from taking a flight back to Barcelona, truely exhausted after traveling to so many places in such a short time. Even though I had my fair share of downs, the whole trip have been truely rewarding. In the next few days, I would sit down, do nothing and reflect about the whole journey.

Here's a summary of the trip:

Amsterdam - the inspiring experience of visiting the van Gogh and Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt and co)... and of course, that stormy night. Losing my camera. Still regreted not smoking weed.. damn...

Istanbul - boat trip up the Bosphorous, visting the beautiful Ottoman Buildings. Blue mosque is really beautiful.

Cappadocia - hiking through the valleys with plenty of fruit trees (yum), hitchhiked (my first time) with some turkish locals ... easy and fun.

Oludeniz - Paragliding, cruising the Meditereanean and lying on the stunning beach reading 5 people u meet in heaven again.

Ephesus - Oogling at the majestic roman ruins

Istanbul - Smoking water pipes (not much effect, really) and the Quran effect... haha

Berlin - Such an interesting city, the stark contrast between the new and the old. Checkpoint Charlie was quite an experience. Seeing the Berlin wall.

Dresden - the beautiful Baroque buildings, staying Torsten and staying with his East German family

Prague - I love Prague. It was raining for 3 straight days but the overcast skies brought out the most elegant side of the timeless city. discovered that Jeanette and I had so much in common.

Cesky Krumlov - I love this place as much. Beautiful, quaint (after the tour groups leave), and good hostel. Meet a wonderful couple on honeymoon, Jeff and Sue, who taught me a useful lesson about love. Had a great time with them. such great connection.

Vienna - Missing my train. A beautiful imperial city, great interior decorations in Din enjoyed it that much though. Pretty exhausted and drained.

Budapest - Din have high hopes but the city really proved me wrong. Great view during the night. The sights were really amazing. Incredibly beautiful. Glad to be going back to Barcelona.

What went on inside me was more incredible than the sightseeing. I just feel alive again, alive with emotions. I was so busy before I left Singapore that it made me so numb. Couldn't feel much. Not even excited about the trip at all. Worse of all, deprived of emotions. Mid way through the trip, I just started to feel alive again. More on this in the next installment.

Cheers (thats actually the German way to say bye)
Ah wei