My Life in Words & Pictures
WHO I am is based on WHERE I've been, WHAT I've realized, & WHEN I opened my eyes to WHY I do things and HOW I should live.
Now because I am truly a multi-tasker, I wanted to hit different locations during this summer trip, Netherlands crossed my mind, particularly Amsterdam. I wanted to start "easy" wherein there will be no language barrier but the possibility of a huge culture shock - I love being uncomfortable and challenging myself to keep my composure! I set my eyes on Amsterdam and I now need to search for what country to visit in the African continent. I began my research & found out that I may not have the skills for Madagascar being that I don't even enjoy camping. It was supposed to be on the rugged outdoor side so I am going to pass on that. Next up was Egypt. My bestfriend & I have long planned to visit this place but (1) she got pregnant - I am not mad because I love my godson - and then (2) there were some lingering political unrest in the area. I am now down to South Africa but as I was about to Google things, I decided to ask my friends on Facebook if they had any recommended parts of Africa. There were several people who suggested Morocco! I mean, I know that it's towards the northern part of it & not in the heart of the continent but after a quick search, it became my top contender with all its amazing photos. So I finally had my start location (Amsterdam) & my second location (Morocco). I knew that I wanted to hit 1-2 more places but had no idea where to start. Since I haven't made up my mind yet, I decided to just search airfares. As I searched, I noticed that most of the flights had a layover in Spain & Portugal. I've been to Barcelona, Spain but I've never thought about Portugal so ding-ding-ding! I found my 3rd location! I have now completed my plan of starting my trip in Amsterdam, then flying down to Portugal, and then heading out to my final destination of Morocco. By the time I was booking my flights, I kept seeing Iceland all over so guess what I did? You are right about that! I have decided to squeeze in almost 20 hours in Reykjavik. Now, since I am doing this at the beginning part of the trip, I've concluded that I might as well do the same towards the later part of the trip - I have chosen a 15-hour layover in Barcelona! At this point, I've maximized my locations & will lock my plans down. My trip was set from July 4th to July 18th, 2008...14 days...5 different countries...Alone.
As if traveling out of the country alone for the first time is not challenging enough, I decided to set more limitations for myself - I will now stay at hostels FOR THE FIRST TIME and only bring a BACKPACK! I do not like spending so much money on lodging anyways being that I never really have the intention to stay in. When I was younger, I've taken so many knick-knacks & things with me when I travel. However, after a very horrible decision to travel heavy to Europe in summer 2012 (story in another blog maybe), I swore off big luggages! This time around, I brought only 5 shirts, 3 shorts, 2 light dresses, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 bathing suit, & the essentials. In every hostel I stayed at, I chose the bottom bunk so that I could hang the set of clothes that I hand washed daily. The above picture shows you everything that I took with me, nothing more & nothing less. I had intended to live simple, easy, and minimalistic for the next half a month-ish of my life! This was a challenge I set for myself, and the end result is yet to be discovered, whether I am out of my mind or what I've decided to accomplish is truly doable. Now, let's start with Reykjavik, Iceland... Iceland airport is neat and easy to navigate. When you arrive from an international flight, you would have to go downstairs for the arrival section where you can claim you luggage. Upon exiting, you will immediately see the sign that says "Welcome to Iceland" and underneath that is where you buy your shuttle or bus tickets to head out to central Reykjavík. If you’re coming back to the airport, just get the roundtrip tickets as it’s good for anytime. When you arrive at your hostel or hotel, go ahead and schedule that transportation back, because they would have to call the bus company to put you on the list.
My layover was only a total of 19 hours so I was unable to explore as much as I would’ve liked. The city center is really nice and full of shops and restaurants. I didn’t do much shopping except for a cap that has a penguin and the word Iceland on it. It was cute. I must say though that the food is extremely expensive. I paid about $20 for fish and chips from a street cart so imagine how much it would be at sit-down restaurants. Then for the evening, I had a typical tempura maki sushi that cost me $35! It was crazy. Haha. Their coffee was priced about the same as ours though, but the shake I got at the airport was close to $10. The next day, I followed the bus schedule for the airport ride back. The bus arrived a bit early & I was picked up at 2:15 AM (supposedly at 2:30). Upon coming back, be aware that airport doesn’t really open until 3:30 AM so if you get there earlier, you will have to sit on the floors & wait. I didn’t exchange any cash during my stay. I paid for everything using my credit card. Anytime I approached a store or restaurant, I made sure I doubled-checked first. The upside is I got to keep my Euros for my other trips & I didn’t get charged extra for withdrawing. The only downside is I was unable to buy those small mementos at the flea market & the small cute pop up shops around the city. In conclusion, I like that my trip didn't require me to learn any new language & that the public transportation was easy to figure out. This part of my trip wasn't as planned as I would like it to be. It would've been nice to have seen the outdoors. My visit to Reykjavik, Iceland was too short that I'm probably better off going back one day. =)
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