Backpack Adventure: Budapest Gorgeous!

Before I forget all the name of the places, I better document all my backpack adventures in this blog. Gosh... I think I may have forgotten most names to the places I've visited... :(

Budapest, Hungary is the first city I visited after my traineeship in Poland in April 2003. I remembered how I had to leave Warszawa early in the morning at about 6am to catch the train. Just imagine carrying a 30kg backpack with a notebook PC on one shoulder and a few other plastic bags on the other.

The challenge was understanding the train ticket. I didn't know where to sit. I asked for directions but the train personnels couldn't speak much english. So, I decided to dump myself in the best cabin I see. Little did I realize that I was sitting in the 1st class cabin. The seats are much bigger and they have this small little table by the window. Upon reaching Bratislava's train station, I was asked for the ticket by the train personnel. He was telling me so many things... and pointing my finger to another direction. I guess he was trying to tell me that I was in the wrong cabin and asked me to go to the Economy class cabin. I acted like I couldn't understand him at all (I just didn't want to move my luggage down the small cabin lane). Furthermore, my cabin is closest to the train door. Frustrated explaining to me after a few minutes... he just left! =D Woohoo! Luckily I wasn't fine for sitting in the 1st class cabin.

I was supposed to meet with Eszther, a Hungarian which I met during the PEACE project traineeship in Poland. She was nowhere to be found... I kept searching for her for almost 1/2 an hour. I was supposed to stay in a student dormitory. I finally gave up and decided to change my currency so that I can look for my own accomodation. I don't know if you call this a miracle but as soon as I changed the currency, I turned around and I saw Eszther looking around... for ME! I called out for her and she was so happy to see me. I was so glad... at least I just needed to pay RM9 per night to stay at her student dormitory. If I stayed on my own, I would have to pay 10x more! =D

Budapest, I would say is the most beautiful city I've ever stepped my foot on in Europe. The night scenery is just exhilirating and mind blowing. I didn't have a good camera to do justice to the night scene but it's really that good. This is not a place to go if you are backpacking alone. I had no choice. I was alone there. I couldn't express my feelings... All I can do is to witness the beauty and keep it to myself.


On the way to Budapest from Warszawa. The train stopped at Bratislava to pick up new passengers.


The Famous Gellert. This is the first night where I walked around the city to get a feel of it. I had a Turkish bath in this historical hotel.


I didn't know that Hungary was once under the Romans... =D Okay, I admit. I was never an avid fan of history but hey, I learn from travellling ;D Anyway, this is Aquincum - one of the preserved Roman ruins. I went there with Vivien and Yong Han (both Malaysians who are also in Budapest that time) We were brought to this place by Inez Nemes who is studying in a University in Budapest.


This is Centrum! We got here by taking a train and it's nice to see the less urbanised part of Budapest.


I love small streets like this. It's unique and functional! This small street leads you up to a place where you can taste freshly baked pancakes! See picture below!


You must try these pancakes. They have all sorts of fillings to go with it. I couldn't remember what I had... but it sure tastes GOOD!!


Look at THAT! The scenery from here is just amazing. There's a feel to ancient Europe...


I don't even know how to describe this picture. This is a castle... it's very close to the monument for the fallen soldiers of Hungary. See? I told ya I couldn't remember the names already... :(


My pictures doesn't do justice. The amount of detail on this building is just incredible. This building is now used to house a medicinal bath center. They have all kinds of healing services to offer.


This is the famous Golden Bridge... I wished I had a better camera that time to capture the grandness of it. It's just amazing. There are lanes for cars, trams and pedestrians too on both sides.


Budapest is most beautiful by night when the city is all lit up. It is no less beautiful in the morning...


This is the student dormitory I stayed in. For RM9 per night, I'm not complaining. Besides, it's just beside the Danube river... =D

During the entire trip, I relied on the "Rough Guides to Europe". A lot of people have recommended me Lonely Planet and I did try but I find that it is not as informative as the Rough Guides. The Rough Guides is more suited for the budget traveller while Lonely Planet is overly commercialized. I had a great time in Budapest and I seriously recommend it to the season travellers and to those who would like to go on a similar backpack adventure. Due to the beauty of the place, you might want to just spend several hours at one location - doing NOTHING! Just relax and enjoy the scenery.

It's farely easy to travel around especially if you're staying near to the Danube river. You can take the subway to distant tourist spots or even the tram. Other nearby attractions are easily accessible by foot. Again, language might be a barrier but you can easily drop by the nearby University where students there can understand English.

Backpack Adventure: Breathtaking Beijing

It's only after a year later, I'm blogging about my personal trip to Beijing. Today's the 27th of October and approximately a year ago, on the 28th of October 2004, San San and I flew to Beijing, China - on our own for an adventure of a lifetime.

Among the things we had in the backpack:
- Clothings
- Some snacks (energy bars, instant noodles, chocolates, etc.)
- Sony Clie TH55 PDA
- Sony F717 Digital Camera
- Passports, Flight tickets
- Rough Guide book (the only guide we had)
- Some printed street maps downloaded from the internet

The whole adventure begins from the departure itself from KLIA. As soon as we boarded the China Airlines plane, we already felt the true spirit of "kiasu-ism" among the Beijingers. I do not mean to steoreotype but the encounters are based solely on my observations. There's this lady who is shouting to all her peers to quickly board the plane so that they could put their HUGE luggage in place FIRST! Everyone is rushing to get to their seats. I can't understand why the hurry when all the seats are already pre-booked.

Nightware begins when they are loading their big plastic woven baggages in the overhead baggage compartment. Some of them are bigger than my backpack and I wonder how they managed to convince the immigration officers that their bags are hand luggages. Some of the baggage just wouldn't fit and they kept shoving it in. Then, there's this smell. I cannot explain the smell but it wasn't there before. As soon as everyone settled down, I could smell this strong perfume-like (smelly to me) smell which I think could be some kind of cheap lotion Beijingers put on their body. Of course, they burp here and there like it's a normal thing to do. I heard so much about the spitting and luckily, it didn't happen on the plane.

I thought the spitting culture was just an overrated thing. To my horror as soon as I got out of the airport, I started to notice that everyone was just spitting on the streets! Even the beautiful ladies!!! Gosh... they have so much saliva to spare! So, I told myself that I have to adapt to this culture and see it in a positive light. However, one that I cannot accept is that everyone - nearly everyone - SMOKES! Smoke is in the air... I could smell cigarettes everywhere! Maklumlah... the air is already badly polluted and the smokers makes it worse! It's really bad. I couldn't escape the smoke... smokers are everywhere. It is so irritating! The government should really try to educate these people on the effects of smoking and of course, killing other people at the same time!

Below are some pictures which I would like to share.


Guided by only the "Rough Guides", we made it all around Beijing by bicycle, subway, foot and even the local bus.


Who would have guessed... for RMB4 (RM1.70), you get a big bowl of this delicious noodle.


Winter is coming... and this is the best time to be in Beijing. It's cooling to walk all day on the streets. The night mist makes the whole place mystical and definitely - romantic!!! =D


This billboard reminded us that Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is nearby. It would most probably be 1379 - 365 days more as of today.


You have no idea how big the whole place is. It took me more than 6 hours just exploring the Forbidden Palace and I didn't get to visit everything...


6 lanes is not enough for Beijingers. Cars, busses and cyclists ploughs through the streets of Beijing by hundreds. Traffic jams are common and so are polluted air.


You find stalls like this everywhere... serving really good food. If you want to feel Beijing, eat out at street stalls. Don't let the cheap price deceive you into thinking that the food may not be that good. It is!


And for the more adventurous type, you might even find food like this irresistible. Yummy... I didn't tried any though. Not my type of food.


The bicycles are really a great way to travel the streets of Beijing. One has to beware of the horrible drivers they have there though. Cars beat the lights right infront of the police officer; just imagine what kind of danger you are in...


Beijing is also about the people and their culture. This is a rare sight... in our country! People dance to music, practice wushu and performs their daily exercise in the various parks you find all around Beijing.


I was told that we are not allowed to take photos of army personnels, police or any high ranking officers... What happened if they happened to come in to view? Anyway, this is the famous Wan Fu Jing street where you buy your souvenirs and get cheated all at the same time. I bought a picture frame starting at RMB150 and I bargained it down to RMB10 =D So, remember to go LOW!!


Self guided tour is the best way to travel in a foreign country as you can decide where to go, how to get there, what to eat and when to eat... You can spend as much time as you want in a location and perhaps, do some stunt photography... hehe... like the one above... =D


Beijing overs its visitors breathtaking sceneries, hundreds of years of history and it never fails to impress...


One should not miss the amazing acrobatic performance... which is a Chinese heritage. It costs about RMB100 (RM45) for entrance but the experience is priceless.


Travelling by yourself also means you get to backpack with other travellers such as this group from France. We decided to visit the un-restored section of the Great Wall at Simatai. Tourists usually flock at the usual Badaling section of the Great Wall which is heavily restored. It took us 3 hours by car ride just to get here.


To save cost, we slept in a hostel. Pretty comfortable if you ask me... but the heater wasn't working... brrr.... cold! =D Anyhow, we're not in most of the time. Leaving the hostel as early as 7am and coming back as late as 11pm, we just needed a place to crash in. The hostel manager was really nice to us and it costs only RMB150 (RM70) per night for 2! It's an excellent deal considering that this hostel is smack right in the middle of the city. It takes us only 15 minutes or less to walk to Tiannanmen Square. Furthermore, the hosteler was nice enough to provide FREE transport from and to the airport.


Of course, it's nice to have good meal sometimes... Food in Beijing is CHEAP and the portion is humongous! We didn't know that it was this big... I know it's a real waste but 2 hungry wolfs (skipped lunch) couldn't even finish all of the above. The picture is deceiving...


Scenes like this in a tunnel is very common... Beijingers sell items ranging from electronics to fabrics to animals. Also a very popular place for beggars alike...


The Panda! Of course... I wouldn't miss it for the world... even though I've seen one in Wien (Vienna). They don't look like they are properly maintained but I hope the zoo would provide these endangered species a more conducive environment to live in...


Remember this from the Chinese movies you always watch on the tele? This is authentic... and it's just so beautiful. As you can see, it's properly maintained and I'm sure it has been restored. Good job!


I have been searching for holes like this... I always see it in the movies! And I found it - at least one that I can step through. Passage ways like this can be found in the olden houses especially the Imperial ones.


Love birds will definitely find Beijing a place with a lot to offer. After tiring days of travelling, it's nice to just take a stroll along the streets and take some snapshots. The serenity of the place is just so relaxing...


I always think that the best way to experience a country and its culture, is through its food. This is the 2nd time we had these chinese dumplings. It was so good the first time round that we came back again to this restaurant.

Conclusion: Beijing is definitely a nice place to visit. The place is huge. So, don't expect to cover everything in 7 days especially those offered in tour packages. We were there for 10 days and it wasn't enough at all. Partly was because that it is nearing winter and tourist spots tend to close few hours earlier. The spitting culture is true, so, don't be alarmed. If you want to be part of them... go right ahead and SPIT! *Ptui....* It's perfectly normal. Just don't bring back that culture to Malaysia. I would be the first to smack you right in the face! Try the food at the street stalls because they offer delicacies which is unique and tasty.

You might want to brush up your Chinese if you are backpacking. The Chinese there barely speaks English.