Journey With Deb

(Written by Terence on Travel Postcards)

After spending 6 weeks in Europe, we bid goodbye to snow, heavy jackets, bratwursts, museums and lots of history. Reflecting back on the last 40+ days, we’ve had many incredible experiences, stories to tell and memories etched – that will never be forgotten for lifetimes to come.

Our next 3 weeks takes us to possibly one of the most colourful continents in the world: Africa. We revel in the reality that we are now in closer proximity with wildlife and the climate is comfotably tropical. Having spent a week here, it has dawn upon us that South Africa has its surprises. Contrary to what we assumed, the average standard of living is alarmingly high (for example; a simple dinner will set us back R180/MYR90). Also, getting connected to the worlwide web is a scarcity, in some cases it would costs us a bomb to get dial-up. Can’t expect much being surrounded by dense forest, mountainous boulders and gorgeous coastlines. No complaints though, Deb finds it liberating to be out-of-contact for a week, whilst I twiddle my fingers itching to have some online presence!

Our first few days spent at Johannesburg was relatively chilling (in a relaxing way, not in a cold way!). We rented a car, drove around the city, made friends with friendly locals, walked through their markets and watched a lot of talk on TV about the coming World Cup.

We stayed at Mbizi Backpackers in Johannesburg. Great location, feels like home and extremely spacious – which is what we love! They even have a huge pool to dip ourselves in!

One place was worth our visit was the Apartheid Museum. Walking through this museum and memorial site dedicated to the cruel and inhuman regime (of white-only dominance) reminded us of our visit to Dachau, just recently. The segregation of communities and the nation just because of colour, skin or origins – were badly astonishing. Happened only in recent history that laws were passed for ‘white-only’ areas, ‘white-only’ benches/chairs, beaches, toilets – the list goes on. People who stood against this white ruling regime were arrested and tortured (mostly politicians). The most famous captive was Nelson Mandela, who eventually became the President of South Africa in 1994. His autobiography, Long Road to Freedom is definitely worth reading.

Visiting the Apartheid Musuem help put images and experiences to the words in the Mandela’s autobiography. Following the trail of this inspiring and humbling history throughout Africa, we will be visiting Robben Island in a few weeks time.

It is not hard to tell that Sifnos is an island famous for the unique pottery art that decorate the gardens and balconies giving colour to the homes. After peeking into many shops that remained closed for the winter, we chanced upon a shop that seemed closed from the outside, but the owner peered out and waved for us to come in. He hollered, “I need to call the Guiness Book of Records, because you are the first tourists to come in 2010!”. We chuckled a laugh as he led us into his workshop. Busy at painting the clay bowls he had shaped a few days ago, he invites us to look around the shop and immediately engages us in conversation. Antoine is his name, and apparently in Australia they called him the ‘Greek Picasso’ as he made a visit there several years ago to demonstrate the art of Greek pottery. He chimes enthusiastically about pottery making whilst keeping a steady hand at the brush.

It’s time for you to meet Antoine now…

Sifnos is a largely unassuming island part of the Cyclades, a group of islands on the Agean Sea. It is much smaller than Santorini, the famous Mama Mia island or Mykonos, the luxury island visited by celebrities. Small was ideal since we were looking for a break (from a break!).

Quiet in nature and frequently flocked by Greek vacationers in the summer, Sifnos was a hush when we arrived. Small shops lined the bay, a few cars dotted the tiny streets and the ferry waved us goodbye. This tranquil state was to be continued for the next 2 days.  We rented a bike and scooted around the rugged and abrupt rocky landscape, tiptoes the quiet beaches, squinted at the immense whiteness of buildings on the island and Robinson Crusoe’d on this petite island.

The narrow pedestrian cobbled streets wind around the blocks of white square houses, twisting and turning with a view of the sea to offer at every corner. The view from the wide expanse of the Aegean Sea is punctuated by the little churches with blue domed roofs.

While the coastal outline of Sifnos is typically barren, within this tiny island is amazingly lush with greens and vegetation. Animals dotted the humble olive groves and veggie patches – from goats to sheep to donkeys.

Being off season allowed us experience the Greek way of life – watching mothers hang out the clothes, children walking to school and men immersed in their construction and rebuilding of the properties. We learned that people on the island worked only 8 months a year, the other 4 months were spend repairing and reconstructing hotels, restaurants and making more pottery in time for the summer crowd.

The Cambodia or Vietnam of Europe – that’s Athens to me. Cars and motorbikes fill the streets, traffic jams are not a rarity in this condensed city. Stray dogs are found pawing on every corner and the occasional litter is seen spewing on sidewalks. I was comforted by the sight because this is the kind of “Asia” I’m used to seeing, on the other hand, I was startled to find Athens in quite this unruly state.

But apart from the common chaos, Athens is a city with astounding history. After visiting umpteen museums and galleries, we’re reminded of the fact that Europe has done a good job in regarding stories of old. Still, nothing can be compared to what Athens has to offer. With the famous Acropolis, the famed Parthenon, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Ancient Agora and Handrian’s Gate within its parameters, stories of millenniums ago are still very alive in the witnessing of these monumental structures.

We stood trying to picture the stories described, of people filling the theatres, governments being formed, civilization at the brink of its existence and wars being fought. The view took our breaths away as we marveled at the greatest of all archeological sites (perhaps on planet Earth!).

We stood on the hills of the Acropolis eyeing the city 360 degrees with the sun beaming down at us. Winter had taken on a milder side and we were enjoying wearing just one layer of clothing. Athen’s city landscape was a flat pancake of concrete buildings, alleyways barely visible but always a trail of vehicles where roads can be seen. But look beyond the boring square buildings and you will see a horizon of water and misty mountains.

Plaka and Monastiraki known to be the hub of hype is where all the flea markets are found. Storekeepers proudly displayed their goods, of which we found were mostly made in China. Bee lining from one street to another, we were offered a taste of commonality. Accustomed to what we would see in Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, much of the shops resembled the same aura. Half torn down buildings still in use, vendors setting up street side stores, motorbikes whizzing away creating a cloud of carbon dioxide and the familiar sounds of loud harsh wrangling of butchers and market sellers. It was a mess, a comfortable enough kind of mess that we strolled happily through.

We settled into a vacant table after a long day of walking to savour the tasty delights of the raved about Souvlaki. Basically kebabs in simple English served with fluffy pita bread and a side salad. What’s the rave all about?! Well… it’s got to be the juicy, succulent meat of the kebabs! I personally wouldn’t want to know what kind of fats have gone into grilling this spongy meat delight. Just eat.

Greek Salad

More pictures on Travel Postcards

Our days in Europe have been spent walking, jumping, hobbling and dragging our feet in the most tired of hours. Nothing could remedy this better than a hot thermal bath in one of the many thermal pools within Budapest. Since the city literally sits on inactive volcanoes, hot springs and thermal pools sprung to existence. We packed our bags as if heading to the beach, except that it was a cold wintery day. We chose Szechenyi Bath as it attracts a younger clientele, not wanting to be swimming with old aunties and old uncles with big beer bellies. The day was soon getting dark and the temperature had dropped even further, now at -4c. The thermal pool incidentally was an outdoor one. Taking up the challenged, we rushed from indoors to outdoors in our swimming gear and nothing more than a thin towel. The run proved worthwhile; in a mere few seconds we found ourselves submerged in soothing warm water. Steam blurred our vision and I was guessing there were at least 50 people in the pool with us. We sank into bliss and watched the playful activity around us. White star dust gently disappeared into the water. I looked up and realized it was snowing!

Whether it was psychological or real physical evidence, all aches and joints disappeared after 2 full hours of soaking.

Did you know that Budapest is a city divided by the Danube? On one side is Pest – the flat, busy, central district while on the other side is Buda, the hilly and more residential part of the city. Budapest is a young country that has a past of Communist ruler ship. Its current post-communist state brings about an interesting discussion of pro’s and con’s of the communist regime.

Tourist who traverse this city in a few days would find it incredibly refreshing, in all sense; culturally, architecturally, traditions and its cuisines. There’s a tinge of Turkish, a tad of Russian and a slight flair of its current surfacing Budapestian flavor.

Once again filled with cathedrals and monuments throughout the city, the familiar gothic, neo-western style of buildings seemed to have disappeared. Instead sculptures of angels, saints and milder looking domes formed the shape of its edifices. I was drawn to the structural design of the city, and indeed appreciating it more than the previous European buildings seen in the last few weeks.

To add to these man-made beauties is the Danube; a massive river that sat magnificently between Buda & Pest. On either side was a guaranteed view to behold. Buda had rolling hills – one of which was the famous Castle Hill and the fairy-tale looking Fisherman’s Bastion, 200 mysterious labyrinths beneath, cathedrals atop and the Parliament on one end. Whilst standing on Buda’s side, Pest is brightly lit, buzzing with life and the old St. Stephen’s church in all its grandeur.

Beneath the awesome western-European, our Hungarian guide plaintively explained that its post-communist governance has many rippling effects the people are left to face with. Nonetheless this beautiful city has a lot to look forward too.

The massive neo-classic structure of St. Stephen’s Basilica is not to be missed. We’ve been into dozens of churches around Europe, but this one knocks your socks off. The exterior is a grand statement in itself, however stepping inside will leave you awe struck. The mosaic pictures intricately lined the dome within and 24 carat gold trimmings gently framed each mosaic. Everything in the church looked costly and almost delicate to behold. The only bizarre thing about the basilica was it housed a highly regarded religious treasure – the right hand of St. Stephen’s. This mummified shrunken hand lay in a gold trimmed glass box and people were allowed to see it when you drop a few coins into a machine that would lit the box up for 2 minutes. I found it totally bizarre!

Read Travel Postcards for Terence’s point of view.

One of our favourite “hang-outs” – The Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere) down Andrassy Main Road. Somehow, you get the feeling of patriotism when you see this.

Heroes from Heroes’ Square (duh!)

For tips on Budapest, see Travel Postcards.

1. Drink Viennese coffee,
2. Eat the schnitzel,
3. Go for a concert.

We nodded at all three and gave a thumbs-up. Within 24 hours of arriving we had unknowingly enjoyed the best Vienna had to offer.

The Vienna State Opera House has concerts and performances every night. On the first night we ventured out hoping to get standing tickets which we heard costs only 4 euros. Anna Karenina Ballet was showing that night and I wanted badly to catch it, thankfully we got tickets in time and squeezed into an aisle where other viewers alike had already marked their places. Each aisle had its own hand rest and the aisle extended 5 rows back. The view was great – right in the middle not far from the stage. The show was spectacular and undoubtedly a steal (esp for budget backpackers like us).

We spend our days exploring the city by foot, subway and tram. Having seen at least half a dozen churches, museums and galleries, a tinge of modern art brought new flavour to our day. As we approached the Kunst Haus, Museum Hundertwasser we were gladly amused by the comical non-symmetrical checked boxes painted all over its walls. It looked like a scene taken out from a children’s story book. The fun and unpredictable designs followed us inside with uneven tiled floors said to heighten our sense of experience as sojourners on earth. This building house quirky paintings of the famous Austrian artist named Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Vienna too has its fair share of palaces, with two on both ends of the city. The Schloss Schönbrunn is incredibly huge, although not spectacular in design on the outside, the courtyards and gardens make up for its boring structure. The palace also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hofburg Palace located nearer to the city has a grander feel than the Schonbrunn. Surrounded by waterfalls in the front garden and a statue of Mozart, many people pass daily enjoying the serene quite of its gardens.

Finally, a few must tries and bargains in Vienna (again to do with food since we get hungry quicker in the winter) is the ice cream from Zanoni and Zanoni. Located near the very gothic looking St. Stephen’s Catheral / Stephansdom, the ice cream at Zanoni and Zanoni is fantastic to say the least. Best thing is that it doesn’t cost very much to satisfy your cravings.

And finally, we found the Wurtelstands very helpful for meeting the needs of our growling tummies. Serving up hot kebabs, pizzas, sausages and hot dogs – we couldn’t resist the splendid smells coming from the kiosk.