First Backpack to Europe ALONE!

It was kind of a mad rush that I need to be ready for the trip within a week. The tickets were pre-bought - so the fare is cheaper. I managed to booked the hotels online - which's great as I would be sure of a place to sleep at the freezing nights! The only problem is I don't speak French, Dutch or German.. and the inter-connection between countries ticket were not bought. I have nevertheless got some simple maps and conversation notes ready - you know - just in case. Anyway, I boarded the plane with a kind of mixed feeling - full of anticipation and excitement with a tinkering fear of the unknown land (Well, at least to me). And the Madrid bombing kind of put a dark cloud over me... England (London) France (Paris) Belgium (Brussels, Tielt, Brudge) Germany (Frankfurt) PLEASE DO GO EASY ON THE THUMBNAIL CLICKING AS YAHOO WEBSITE HAVE LIMITED DATA ACCESS PER HOUR. England (London) Well, I arrived at London Heathrow Airport in the afternoon. Meet a Malaysian gal that works in Singapore, Louise on the subway - she was on a month-long holidays in London. Whoa, her luggage was huge! And I also heard for the first time "Mind the gap" . You see -  the train and platform are not even but have a step, pretty dangerous if you asked me.  The "Mind the gap" was heard every time the door is opened.. it kind of stays in your ears... After I arrived my pre-booked hotel - I was told that the room has some problem. So, I was transfer to another hotel, which is in fact nearer to Paddington Station (interchange) - turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Basically, London is easy to get around with their subway - very much similar to Singapore's MRT. The Subway marshals are very helpful too. And after the Madrid bombing, the Europe subway you can hear the announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, please keep you luggage with you at all times. Unattended luggage will be destroyed. If you see any suspicious... "  - you know, the usual. I managed to make a quick tour of the Mdm Tussard Museum and rub shoulders with some celebrity... kind of give some tips to them and you know - generally fooled around.. hahaha. The next day, I was suffering from a bad case of sore-throat - the weather is cooled but too dry. Anyway, I went to Waterloo Station to get my ticket to Paris - my next destination. I am still a youth - can you believe it? I am still under 26 - qualifying me as youth.. I feel young again! I went to the Tower hill but was putted off by the insane long-queue. So, I decided to give it a miss and went across the London Bridge... you know with the - "London Bridge is falling down, falling down..." tune in my head.. ;p I went passed the Horsemen Barracks and a group of young lads were "booking out", they gave me some info / directions - they were splendid chaps. I went to the Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Parliament House, Ministry of Defense. I managed to catch a rare-tourist sight - the changing of Horsemen Guards! hahaha, God Blessed! With time on my hand, I made a quick trip to the St John Museum. I was greeted warmly by the people there once they knew I was from the Organization. I joined the tour of the museum, the St John Gate history, the Order and movement. I even went into the St John's church! On my way back, I managed to find a Thai restaurant, went in and have a meal purely because of the rice. I am no fan of sandwiches - and the thought of eating bread with meat or with whatever fillings for the whole trip kind of overwhelmed me. Luckily, I found a shop with rice.. but the dishes were poorly cooked... I managed to get ticket for the Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty's Theatre - the original production was first shown there. Alas, the seat were selling like hot-cakes, I only managed a balcony seat. After getting the ticket, I went to the Buckingham Palace. The crowd were huge - some tourist were asking me - "what is everyone waiting for?" - what else, the Changing Of Guards lah! Aiyo, lucky I got this info from the horsemen's friends yesterday - or else I will be like them so "blur sotong". The band and Royal Guards were great - only problem is I can't get closer to the palace because it's already filled with people. However, I was by the gates at the first row, so I did get a close view. After the ceremony, I rushed down for the show, I was shocked as the road and traffic were kind of blocked by protesters. Yes, you heard me right, protesters against the Iraq war marching on the road. I saw them the day before, they were few but it was different this time round. Anyway, I cut across the protesters to get into the theatre... without skipping a heartbeat. The protesters were in fact pretty peaceful. I enjoyed the show, the cast were great. After the show, I rushed down to Harrod's to get some souvenir for my mum. Her coin pouch from Harrod's were old and a bit "seasoned" - dad told me to get her a new one. I wanted to go Bath, Stonehenge and Winsor Castle (& LegoLand), but the tour package was fully booked. Without any choice, I went to Chinatown, Leicester Square and Covent Garden. I got a few rare crystal in the market for my dad - Titanium quartz and the likes. I also have the nicest beef fried rice in my life in Chinatown. The service was ok but the food were superb - or maybe I missed the rice too much. Probably being alone in a city for a few days, it's kind of nice being in an environment that you can hear some chinese and cantonese being spoken. I spent the rest of time in the British Royal Museum, it was huge and the collection inside was awesome! Some interesting stuff: 1.Notice of Surveillance in toilet, 2.A "dog-dropping" bin, 3.Toilet in the road - (heard that the door will open after certain time limit if you don't insert more coins.. never try it) 4.Me saying bye bye with London cab and old building as backdrop, 5.The hotel I spend my London trip - nice receptionist there - friendly and helpful.

France (Paris) The Eurostar train arrived in Paris around evening. It reached the speed of about 200 to 300km/h and it crossed under the the English Channel - the time from London to Paris was only 3 hours. Again, the jitters of the Madrid bombing were evident - police and soldiers were patrolling the Gare du Nord train station - kind of like Singapore Changi Airport. Anyway, I got my connecting train to Brussels through my broken French.. reading off my notes. The toilet entrance is 1 Euro - which is 2 Singapore dollars! The worst thing is that they don't have change for the notes I had... You can imagine me trying to change my notes to relieve myself - luggage still in-tow... Kinda fun and exciting. ;) I took the Metro (subway, MRT whatever you want to called it) to my hotel. I took a nice and long deserved hot bath before heading out for my dinner. I ordered Assistte Doner which is essentially French fries (made in French potato I presumed), Beef Kebab, Rice (I don't called that rice!), Salad and Bread. It is not French cuisine, rather I think it's from Middle-Eastern country. Anyway, the meal was ok. The next day, I went to tour Paris. My first stop - where else, but the Eiffel Tower. I met Karline there. She helped me took a photo. As we looked at one another and noticed we are like from the "East", we paused to introduced one another. It turned out that she was a Malaysian on a short trip away from her business trip. She was asking why I head towards the Tower even after taking the photo, I told her that I wanted to "go up" the Tower. I invited her to join me as she has a bit of height phobia. In the end, we bought tickets to go right up to the top. The view up there is spectacular and the wind there is cold! We ended up teaming up for a one-day tour as she's also going places that I was going to visit and our route is similar. Her digital camera was flatted and I helped her took some photos and she settled the French conversations. Maybe it's God's way of working through us to help Christian brother and sister. We visited Arc de Triumph, walked along Avenue des Champs (a shopping strip - like Orchard Road.. only more fashionable - hahaha, gals will kill to shop in these areas), Assemblee Nationale, Palais Grand de la Decarvente (Jardin du Carrousel), the Glass Pyramid and Cite (Hotel Die & Notre Dame). I have snails for appetizer... (escargots) and enjoyed a great meal by the street coffee house. After Karlene and I went our separate ways, I went to Hotel Rohan, St Paul and Musee Picasso. Anyway, I didn't intent to go there, but I lost my way and ended up visited one or two tourist site. It's miracle-in-disguise!

Belgium (Brussels, Thielt, Brudge) My next stop is the capital of Europe - Brussels. I saw SNOW for the first time as there was snowing for a brief moment! Well, Belgium looked like an old city - most of the buildings are in dull color tone of brown and grey. I went searching for the Natural History Museum in Luxembourg as they were having a dinosaurs' exhibition. I being a sucker for such the extinct giants of the world - will definitely won't want to miss it! On my way, I actually passed by the European Parliament as a kind-hearted guide told me. Some dinosaurs were not as huge as I thought, but some were! The Museum also boast a good collection of crystals and stones - think my dad would love to hang out here... I made a quick trip to the Palais de la Nation, Palais Royal and Palais des Beaux. Of course, I wouldn't missed out the Grand Place and the famous "pee-ing boy" - the Mannekin Pis. The following day, I went to the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the Atomium before leaving Brussels to Tielt for a factory visit. After the visit, I went to Brudge as Rina was telling me that Brudge is a nice place. I agreed - it is. I only managed a short few hours in this old city spending my time in the Marketplace and street shops. I also had a great meal - enjoying Mussels and Brudge beer - both specialties of where else? - Brudge! One thing I need to warned fellow travelers - beware of pickpockets and con-man in Belgium. They were common. A student asking pledge for the homeless actually asked people to sign support card first before telling you that you must donate 10 Euro (about 20 Singapore dollars), which I think is a con job. My bag was also almost stolen at the train station as one thief distract me and the other quietly sneak-in and took off with my bag. Thankfully I suspected something and realized it early. I shouted at the thief ! What the world is this? He actually calmly put down my bag, smile before walking away! Anyway, I never gave chased or report to Police as I was out-number and my train to Frankfurt was coming in 5 minutes time.

Germany (Frankfurt) On my train to Germany, my train actually have a malfunction - luckily a kind lady going to Frankfurt too tell me about the the announcement (in German, what else?). She was sharpening her English and she overhear me communicating with a Bio-Chemist Senior at the hospital in the train using English... so God's mysterious way of "helping" a poor chap that can't speak German. By the time I reached Frankfurt, it was rather late, so I don't get to go out to visit any place - which is ok because I was tired from all the walking and traveling. The next day, I went to Dom (St Bartholomous), Paulskirche (Church of St Paul), Romer, Imperial Hall Kaisersaal, the market and city shopping centre stretch. I saw lots of young Korean and probably even English students singing carols and spreading the good word. Alas, Frankfurt is my last leg before I fly back to Singapore. And unbelievably, I bought TWO blackforrest cake back from Germany - as my mum was crazy over it... I also met an Irish couple while waiting for the flight back. They were on the same flight with me before connecting to Australia. The Irishman was a Ultra loyal Manchester United fan! hahaha, he was in a ManU jersey, ManU trackpants and wore a ManU gold pendant! He was like going on and on about ManU - the recent matches, the growth, his 30 years of support for ManU, his love of ManU (Well, he declared - ManU is God and kissed the pendant.. hahaha) and the 1998 Barcelona Champions' League Finals - he was there! Kind of funny chap, he even bought lots of beer to drink after the pub was closed - after all, he's Irish! On my flight, a passenger actually wanted my seat so that she can be with her friends, so I changed with her. Guess what, the new seat actually is much spacious and comfortable... and I watched movie that I missed its showing in cinema - The School Of Rock - it Rocks!!! The trip was great, I totally enjoyed myself.

Howard - That's Me
Growing Up
Playtime
Nerdy Primary Schools
Havoc Secondary School (BMSS)!
Saints Family (SAJC)
Army Daze (NS)
Stressful University Days (NTU)
Memoirs of an Officer (SJAB)

My Europe Trip
Sign Guestbook View Guestbook