Backpack Europe - Journey and Local Tours Review

Oct'09)

Post Travel Insight

Backpack Europe last minute seemed a little stressful at first but in reality, it turned out quite the exact opposite! I have had an enriching journey and have returned home safe. (I believe partially thanks also to the prayers of my parents). I’m happy that I have finally done something that I have put aside for many years.

The really nice part was, the journey has turned out ‘quite’ perfect even though I did not waste time and effort into planning a perfect trip. The sheer joy of following my heart! Also I’m glad I have joined a group adventure tour in the middle of my travel which gave me a good feel of enjoying solo travel adventure and group travel adventure.

The not so nice part was, I was not a good photographer.... so didn't manage to take good pictures in spite of so many great sights! (So pardon me if I upload some lousy photos in this blog, due to lack of choices (hehe).

Travel London, First Day

Upon touched down in London after a 14-15 hrs flight, I went to a cafe in Stansted airport to relax. A waiter broke a plate quite far from where I sat. The manager immediately gave me a fresh cup of coffee. Excellent customer service!

My first day in Europe was spent taking underground trains, looking for hotel, searching where to buy Europe Rail Pass and how to go Paris.  Then I went night-walking the areas of Trafalgar Square before retiring to bed early. The next morning, I took the Eurostar to Paris.

Travel Paris, France

I saw Paris hopping on and off tourist buses, stopping extra long at the Louvre and NotreDame. Most areas of Paris have indeed a charming atmosphere except for Paris Gare du Nord. This area reminded me of Chow Kit Street in Malaysia but the more elegant version hehe. 


 Regarding Eiffel Tower, my previous romantic dream is now being replaced by just a mechanical memory, after I came down from the top of this tower.  


The most memorable attraction for me in Paris was the Moulin Rouge Show. Very impressive costumes and stage production especially the part where a dancer performed with a huge snake in a gradually raised water tank. Also all the 50 or more lady-dancers were topless!

Travel Adventure in Costa Brava and Barcelona, Spain
I signed up with Adventura.com for Catalonia Cycling along Costa Brava. I ended up cycling with a group of British men and women. We cycled around 40km per day , mostly through medieval villages around the natural park, vineyards, olive groves, along the beach and also in the rain as well as flood water!          

                In between cycling, we had a day at leisure to relax and explore on our own. I visited Barcelona. Saw this radiant and vibrant city on tour buses. Most impressive for me were the Gaudi’s creative works. Also, I wanted to visit the Picasso Museum in Barcelona but the queue was just too long. 

On another leisure day, I enjoyed a relaxing trip to Figueres with a British friend. The atmosphere of this town is just the direct opposite of Barcelona. The centre of attraction here was no doubt the Dali Museum.

Travel Rome, Italy
I saw Rome by walking more than 10 hours per day for 2 days. It was tiring but well worth it. Rome has so many beautiful ancient arts and buildings for the eyes such as the Colosseum, Vatican Museum, Trevi Fountain, Basilica St. Peter, Marcello’s Theatre, Roman Forum, Pantheon, PiazzaVenezia, Piazza Navona, etc., etc. 
I found my jaw dropping all the time in Rome!  

In Rome, sight-specific tour guides are popular with tourists.  My walking tour guide was a really good story teller.  The Colosseum tour was a "ripped-off". The guide lost part of his group inside the arena. The Roman Forum guide was well worth the money and the Vatican Museum guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic but I have problem understanding his english.  Talking about Vatican, gosh the queue was unbelievably long at 8am!

Travel Venice, Italy

Venice is such a unique and romantic city. Is interesting to watch how most activities centered along the river canal with water buses and boats as the main public transport. It was refreshing to sailed along the river viewing the many novel sights. Is kind of easy to get lost walking in Venice (maybe is just me) especially if one ventured away from the river looking for the many attraction sites.

My favorite sights were around Piazza San Marco such as the Basilica San Marco and Palazzo Ducale. However, the boring part about Venice was, most shops in Venice are selling the same handcrafted glass products. Beautiful yet expensive, attractive yet fragile. Oh, almost forgot, Venice gelato! Love the ice-cream! I ate four, one after another!  

Travel Lucerne, Switzerland

I experienced the best customer service in Europe from the staff at the Lucerne tourist-info counter. I ended up staying near the beautiful Lake Lucerne, 15-20 minutes walk from the train station and famous sights such as the Jesuitenkirche, Kapellbrucke and the Lucerne Culture and Convention Centre. The boat ride along the lake to Weggis was filled with beautiful scenery of serenity and peace everywhere.




Mount Titlis in central Switzerland was another beautiful place. To reach the top of the snow-capped mountain, we experienced 4 stages of cable cars, the last being the popular rotating cable cars (The ROTAIR).

Coming down from Mt. Titlis, the friendly guide took us to a popular souvenir shop in Lucerne. I got a SWATCH, which strap came off after just 1 day!.... hmmm.....

Travel Munich, Germany
One of the eye-catching sight in Munich was the handsome cars that parade the streets. BMWs and Mercedes were like Protons in Malaysia, seen everywhere! In my opinion, the most magnificent sight was the grand huge monotonous looking Munich Castle . (Think the architectural design of the building is just too symmetrically aligned).

When I was in Munich, the attraction of seeing new places didn’t entice me much. Maybe because I was not feeling well due to flu and felt missed home then. Also I think this city dulls in comparison to the previous cities I have been.

Travel Salzburg, Austria

In Salzburg, I met up with my Malaysian friends. We joined the “Sound of Music” Bus Tour which turned out very entertaining. I would rate the charming tour guide, the best in my Europe trip. Besides those lovely spots filmed in the movie, my other favorite spots were the Fortress Hohensalzburg and the Mozart Square.

Travel back to London, Last Few Days

Returning to London, we  went shopping at Braintree Designers’ Village and savored some good Chinese food. I stayed at my friend’s place at Southend-on-sea. It is a nice and pleasant residential town near the sea with 3 casinos nearby. Heard that the next Olympic Stadium would be built in this area.

Before flying back to Malaysia, I met up with a London friend to sight-see the areas of Westminster, Royal London, Kensington, London Eye, etc, walking in the rain! :) London was still “cool” and majestic in spite of gloomy sky! I especially like the Hyde Park . Overall, I had an interesting and enjoyable London-walk, thanks to good company.

KISS Nugget:-
If any of you feel like taking a break from your daily routinized lifestyle, I say, just go backpack Europe, explore and discover the wonders of traveling spontaneously !