Spain was the first European country that I visited and Madrid was the city that I supposed to spend 3 months there. I reached Madrid on 11-Apr-2016 and left on 20-May-2016. As much as I did enjoy my stay there, however, the one and half month time there was a waste of my professional time.
I supposed to support a project but that project got cancelled during my second week. I didn't really get upset that time because my mind just focused on the trips that I had planned earlier. But as time went by, I wasn't assigned any task, merely assisting a local colleague on some issues. I got fed up eventually and the project weekly reports that I sent to my department bosses were awful. Then my RDM told me that I should go back to Malaysia after my current resource period expired. I agreed to that. It was interesting to stay in Madrid, but I do not enjoy to waste time sitting in the office and act busy. The local team did "try" to ask me stay. But they didn't "try" hard enough. I tried to approach them, wanted to discuss the situation with them. But they didn't make the effort to at least meet me. So, in the end, I gave up as well. Maybe it is better off for me to do something else now.
Before I left Madrid, I did ask myself if I have done everything I could to make the business trip good. I would like to think that I have done my part to help and to communicate. But if there was no response from the counterpart. So, why bother?
Now, let's let go the not-so-good experience and embrace the memorable one.
During this period of time, I have visited 5 cities - Madrid, Toledo, Valencia, Seville and Barcelona. I enjoyed most of the cities but did encounter some bad experience during the process. The best experience would be Barcelona while the worst would be Valencia. Barcelona was best because of the places that I visited and bonus events that I encountered. Sagrada Familiar was awesome and I want to revisit when it is done on 2026. As for the bonus event, I participated in the victory parade of FCB. FCB won the La Liga cup the night the before (14-May) and had the victory parade around the city (15-May). I was so excited to be part of it despite I am not a football fan (at least for now). That experience is something you can't buy with money. It was about timing. On the other hand, Valencia was worst owing to wrong travel companion. After the Valencia experience, I have understood the importance of travelling companion. A good one will make the trip enjoyable. The wrong choice will just turn everything sour. This experience has taught me to find good travel companion or else it is better off travelling alone.
If I am to use short sentences to describe each city, they will be:
Madrid : It will be more fun if I could speak Spanish. A lot of events going on every weekday night.
Toledo : A beautiful ancient city but I did not have enough time to enjoy it.
Valencia : A nice coastal city, but wrong travel companions. The beach is nice but not as good as Bondi beach.
Seville : A rushed but enjoyable solo trip. I found the tapas there are really special. Not just patatas with mayo.
Barcelona : Encountering unexpected events are fun.
In nutshell, Spain is a good country to visit and it will be more fun if I know the language.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
My Experience in Rome, Italy
Visiting Rome was probably be the most exciting trip I have had this year up to date. It was a spontaneous trip. I made the decision after confirming my early leave from Spain. Everything was booked in a rush, not much survey was done except the places that I wanted to visit. All I had in Rome was just 10 hours and within these 10 hours I managed to complete my Angel and Demon self-guided tour.
It all started on 20-May-16 (Friday) evening. I took a 8PM Ryanair flight from Madrid to Rome CIA airport. Upon reaching that airport, it was around 11PM and I had to make a quick decision whether to head to the city center or stay at the airport area. I had the temptation to leave for Termini (Rome central station) because I wish to get a early start of my trip the next day. However, after going through some comments over the internet. The reviews weren't encouraging so I decided to spend a night at the arrival hall.
I was happy that I had made a correct decision. There were other people spending their night in the arrival hall as well. The groups were quite diverse - there were couples, families, backpackers and lone rangers. All from different ethnicity and age group. I was happy that I had some company. Of course, I did take some time to do some preventive measure to avoid my property being taken away while I was asleep. However, I didn't sleep much though. People at my age does not suitable to sleep on hard floor anymore. I had a backache after taking a short sleep. I recalled it was about 4 hours max. I spent the rest of the time reading book (Elon Musk), wondering what're other people business and walking around to ease my sore legs.
When it was dawn, around 530AM, I wasted no time and carried my luggage from the airport to the nearest station. There was shutter bus service but the first car runs at 8AM. Since Casabianca station is not really far from the airport, I made the decision to walked there in order to save time. I needed to get to city and dropped my bag at 8AM sharp.
There was an minor incident happen that startled me. As I wanted to buy a train ticket before leaving to Cacabianca station I found the ticket machine do not accept 20 Euro banknote. Frustrated, I approached a group of people nearby hoping they would break it for me. However, to my disappointment, they claimed they do not have the change without considering. I was informed that Rome is not exactly a safe city to roam around so people may be a little more cautious when dealing with strangers. I understood they were not obliged to help me out. But, as a tourist, I found that cautiousness was not tourist-friendly. A mental note, remember to bring more small banknote when travelling Europe. Most of the places, even some big shops do not accept big note (The FCB official store at Barcelona refused to take my 50 Euro notes. Well, I attempted to break it down with my 8 Euro purchase).
After carrying and dragging my two luggage for about 1.4km, I reached Casabianca station and found another matter that startled me. There was no ticket machine. I made myself walking up and down twice the area to ensure I did not miss the ticket machine. When I was thinking how to react to the situation, the train came. I knew that if I miss the train, I would have to wait for some time before the next one arrived. So, I hopped on anyway, hoping no conductor would come around to check for ticket. I remembered staying at the at the train entrance compartment so that if the conductor came around, I could either exit the train at the next station or asked for mercy. Luckily, nobody bothered me and I got a free ride from Casabianca station to Termini station.
The following stories after I reach Termini station were ordinary. Not to say they were not memorable but just not as interesting as what I intended to share in this post. For my future reference purpose, I will just do a quick recap.
0800 - Dropped my luggage at BagFree - a 5-minute walk from Termini station.
0815 - Rushed to Termini metro station and headed to Colosseum.
0830 - Arrived at Colosseum. I did not enter the Colosseum because it wasn't in my priority list. I just walked around it to see its exterior.
0900 - Headed to Roman Forum. An enclosed area of Roman ruins.
0930 - Arrived at Altar of the Fatherland (Altare della Patria). A magnificent building built in honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy.
1000 - Arrived at the infamous Trevi Fountain. There is a saying if you have your back towards the fountain and cast the coin with you right hand over your left shoulder. You will have chances to revisit Rome soon? The legitimate of this legend is unknown. Perhaps it is just some trick from an old movie. I did not think much and cast two coins. One was to hope to revisit Europe soon and another to hope to have my dreams come true.
1030 - Arrived at Pantheon. One of the oldest building in Rome and part of the clues in Angel and Demon. I took my time to admire the oculus.
1130 - Arrived at Fiumi Fountain - The fountain of four rivers. It is the "water" clue in A&D. I visited Sant'Agnese in Agone as well. A church situation next to Fiumi Fountain. The artwork in this church is just breath-taking.
1200 - Walked pass Castel Sant'Angelo (wished to visit the museum but it was not my priority either) and arrived at St. Peter Square.
Here I would like to highlight my experience of visiting Vatican City. As soon as I saw St. Peter Square situated no far from me, I was overwhelmed by emotion. Vatican City has always been one of the must-visit cities in my list. I had its picture framed in my room, looking at it day and night hoping my wish would come true. It came true, eventually. During that very moment, I was so overwhelmed and I wept. I found a place to sit, eating my sandwich while I was weeping silently. I was glad that I had my shade on so that nobody would see an Asian adult acting weirdly. The feeling got stronger as I was getting close to the square. I was suppressing my voice so that nobody noticed me. I must say the feeling of achieving something was so good. The feeling of dream come true was so damn good. That's the feeling that I would never want to forget. At that moment, I told myself to remember the exact feeling and I want to have the same feeling again as I fulfilling more of my dreams in the future. I took my time standing next to the basilica to weep and enjoy that moment. After calming myself down, I went around to look for the entry to the Vatican Museum.
1230 - Entered Vatican Museum. The museum was huge. There was too much to see and crowded by tourists. I would revisit again in future and spend one whole day in it.
1500 - Exited Vatican Museum and waited in-line to enter Vatican church. It is the world largest church and the architecture is amazing (at this point, my foot were sore and tire and I was kind of losing patience to admire all the work).
1600 - Arrived at Capella Chigi. The "earth: clue in A&D. It was a creepy chapel due to its death themed design.
1645 - Arrived at Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria. It is the "fire" clue in A&D. I was there to see the actual sculpture "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa". It is considered the most inappropriate sculpture to be placed inside a chapel/church in history. This sculpture was highlighted in A&D so I had to see it with my own eye.
1730 - Back to Termini station. Retrieved my bag from Bags Free.
Sometime around 1830 - Heading to FCO airport.
I was really happy that I made this trip happen. Although it was just a mere 10-hour trip, it was tiring, I didn't really enjoy it fully, I was still happy that I did it. I was happy I crossed off another line item in my bucket list.
I do not foresee me visiting Europe again in near future. But the next time I do it, I want to have another exciting memory for me to write about.
It all started on 20-May-16 (Friday) evening. I took a 8PM Ryanair flight from Madrid to Rome CIA airport. Upon reaching that airport, it was around 11PM and I had to make a quick decision whether to head to the city center or stay at the airport area. I had the temptation to leave for Termini (Rome central station) because I wish to get a early start of my trip the next day. However, after going through some comments over the internet. The reviews weren't encouraging so I decided to spend a night at the arrival hall.
I was happy that I had made a correct decision. There were other people spending their night in the arrival hall as well. The groups were quite diverse - there were couples, families, backpackers and lone rangers. All from different ethnicity and age group. I was happy that I had some company. Of course, I did take some time to do some preventive measure to avoid my property being taken away while I was asleep. However, I didn't sleep much though. People at my age does not suitable to sleep on hard floor anymore. I had a backache after taking a short sleep. I recalled it was about 4 hours max. I spent the rest of the time reading book (Elon Musk), wondering what're other people business and walking around to ease my sore legs.
When it was dawn, around 530AM, I wasted no time and carried my luggage from the airport to the nearest station. There was shutter bus service but the first car runs at 8AM. Since Casabianca station is not really far from the airport, I made the decision to walked there in order to save time. I needed to get to city and dropped my bag at 8AM sharp.
There was an minor incident happen that startled me. As I wanted to buy a train ticket before leaving to Cacabianca station I found the ticket machine do not accept 20 Euro banknote. Frustrated, I approached a group of people nearby hoping they would break it for me. However, to my disappointment, they claimed they do not have the change without considering. I was informed that Rome is not exactly a safe city to roam around so people may be a little more cautious when dealing with strangers. I understood they were not obliged to help me out. But, as a tourist, I found that cautiousness was not tourist-friendly. A mental note, remember to bring more small banknote when travelling Europe. Most of the places, even some big shops do not accept big note (The FCB official store at Barcelona refused to take my 50 Euro notes. Well, I attempted to break it down with my 8 Euro purchase).
After carrying and dragging my two luggage for about 1.4km, I reached Casabianca station and found another matter that startled me. There was no ticket machine. I made myself walking up and down twice the area to ensure I did not miss the ticket machine. When I was thinking how to react to the situation, the train came. I knew that if I miss the train, I would have to wait for some time before the next one arrived. So, I hopped on anyway, hoping no conductor would come around to check for ticket. I remembered staying at the at the train entrance compartment so that if the conductor came around, I could either exit the train at the next station or asked for mercy. Luckily, nobody bothered me and I got a free ride from Casabianca station to Termini station.
The following stories after I reach Termini station were ordinary. Not to say they were not memorable but just not as interesting as what I intended to share in this post. For my future reference purpose, I will just do a quick recap.
0800 - Dropped my luggage at BagFree - a 5-minute walk from Termini station.
0815 - Rushed to Termini metro station and headed to Colosseum.
0830 - Arrived at Colosseum. I did not enter the Colosseum because it wasn't in my priority list. I just walked around it to see its exterior.
0900 - Headed to Roman Forum. An enclosed area of Roman ruins.
0930 - Arrived at Altar of the Fatherland (Altare della Patria). A magnificent building built in honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy.
1000 - Arrived at the infamous Trevi Fountain. There is a saying if you have your back towards the fountain and cast the coin with you right hand over your left shoulder. You will have chances to revisit Rome soon? The legitimate of this legend is unknown. Perhaps it is just some trick from an old movie. I did not think much and cast two coins. One was to hope to revisit Europe soon and another to hope to have my dreams come true.
1030 - Arrived at Pantheon. One of the oldest building in Rome and part of the clues in Angel and Demon. I took my time to admire the oculus.
1130 - Arrived at Fiumi Fountain - The fountain of four rivers. It is the "water" clue in A&D. I visited Sant'Agnese in Agone as well. A church situation next to Fiumi Fountain. The artwork in this church is just breath-taking.
1200 - Walked pass Castel Sant'Angelo (wished to visit the museum but it was not my priority either) and arrived at St. Peter Square.
Here I would like to highlight my experience of visiting Vatican City. As soon as I saw St. Peter Square situated no far from me, I was overwhelmed by emotion. Vatican City has always been one of the must-visit cities in my list. I had its picture framed in my room, looking at it day and night hoping my wish would come true. It came true, eventually. During that very moment, I was so overwhelmed and I wept. I found a place to sit, eating my sandwich while I was weeping silently. I was glad that I had my shade on so that nobody would see an Asian adult acting weirdly. The feeling got stronger as I was getting close to the square. I was suppressing my voice so that nobody noticed me. I must say the feeling of achieving something was so good. The feeling of dream come true was so damn good. That's the feeling that I would never want to forget. At that moment, I told myself to remember the exact feeling and I want to have the same feeling again as I fulfilling more of my dreams in the future. I took my time standing next to the basilica to weep and enjoy that moment. After calming myself down, I went around to look for the entry to the Vatican Museum.
1230 - Entered Vatican Museum. The museum was huge. There was too much to see and crowded by tourists. I would revisit again in future and spend one whole day in it.
1500 - Exited Vatican Museum and waited in-line to enter Vatican church. It is the world largest church and the architecture is amazing (at this point, my foot were sore and tire and I was kind of losing patience to admire all the work).
1600 - Arrived at Capella Chigi. The "earth: clue in A&D. It was a creepy chapel due to its death themed design.
1645 - Arrived at Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria. It is the "fire" clue in A&D. I was there to see the actual sculpture "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa". It is considered the most inappropriate sculpture to be placed inside a chapel/church in history. This sculpture was highlighted in A&D so I had to see it with my own eye.
1730 - Back to Termini station. Retrieved my bag from Bags Free.
Sometime around 1830 - Heading to FCO airport.
I was really happy that I made this trip happen. Although it was just a mere 10-hour trip, it was tiring, I didn't really enjoy it fully, I was still happy that I did it. I was happy I crossed off another line item in my bucket list.
I do not foresee me visiting Europe again in near future. But the next time I do it, I want to have another exciting memory for me to write about.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
My Experience in Valencia, Spain
I believe most people have had some experiences which certain events in their life have made them roll they eyes, curse someone silently (or loudly) or simply want to punch someone in the face (if you are the aggressive person). I just encountered a series of event recently that had made me rolling my eye several times and ruined my vacation.
That particular event happened because people with different traveling goals traveled together. One wishes to spend most of the time on the move and save as much money as possible, whereas others want to have a slow and relax walk around the city and to try out the meals at local restaurants.
One thing we should have done but did not do is communication among the travel companions. We should have discussed about the trip together and got to know each other expectation of the trip. I did not ask too much about the trip because my colleague volunteered to plan everything. So, I thought it would be impolite if I questioned his plan. Also, I did plan to just sit back and enjoy whatever came to me. It was a wrong move. I should only do that if I know all companions have similar goals. Otherwise, when there are different opinions, it is better to make our personal plan and split up to enjoy doing what respective individual wants to do. Also, being thrifty or calculative when traveling is not a good idea. This type of person is a big no-no as a travel companion.
My trip to Valencia did not end well and there are lots places I have not visited yet. Furthermore, I suffered some monetary losses. This experience has changed my impression on a particular person and I have decided not to travel with that person anymore. He is not a bad guy, but just not a suitable travel companion for me. Sometime, it is more enjoyable to travel alone. Yes, it will be more hassle and lonely but you get to do things the way you want to do without compromising. If I really need a travel companion, I have to make sure we have similar travel goals.
That particular event happened because people with different traveling goals traveled together. One wishes to spend most of the time on the move and save as much money as possible, whereas others want to have a slow and relax walk around the city and to try out the meals at local restaurants.
One thing we should have done but did not do is communication among the travel companions. We should have discussed about the trip together and got to know each other expectation of the trip. I did not ask too much about the trip because my colleague volunteered to plan everything. So, I thought it would be impolite if I questioned his plan. Also, I did plan to just sit back and enjoy whatever came to me. It was a wrong move. I should only do that if I know all companions have similar goals. Otherwise, when there are different opinions, it is better to make our personal plan and split up to enjoy doing what respective individual wants to do. Also, being thrifty or calculative when traveling is not a good idea. This type of person is a big no-no as a travel companion.
My trip to Valencia did not end well and there are lots places I have not visited yet. Furthermore, I suffered some monetary losses. This experience has changed my impression on a particular person and I have decided not to travel with that person anymore. He is not a bad guy, but just not a suitable travel companion for me. Sometime, it is more enjoyable to travel alone. Yes, it will be more hassle and lonely but you get to do things the way you want to do without compromising. If I really need a travel companion, I have to make sure we have similar travel goals.
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