Sunday, May 27, 2018
we'll be falling hard in the black hole of our universeand the whole world is ours, but we won't know
'cause we're too busy loving love
Loving Love - Naaz
Day 5 was spent taking a day tour to Alhambra which is like one of the main reason why I wanted to go to Spain. Alhambra is located in Granada which is actually quite far from Seville. It was around a 3-hour drive to get there. So the day was long but it was seriously really such an amazing place and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to finally go there. Took a lot of pictures, so there will be a lot of pictures here. There'll be more in the Flickr albums. I'll try to explain the pictures here a bit, but honestly I can't remember much. There were Sultans, a Romeo and Juliet kind of love story that ended deadly, history. The guide explained a lot but I was just relishing my time being there.
The day started early, okay well perhaps not. I was expecting to get picked up, but instead was told to meet at another hotel. I was quite concerned that I wouldn't know how to get there, but luckily it was quite near and only a straight walk. Supposed to be there by 06:40 AM so that's not that early, but the sun hadn't risen yet. So when I went out, it did feel a bit weird, it felt like 04:00 AM in Indonesia or Singapore, but it's actually not that early if you look at the number. At that hour people would be starting their day, but because it was still dark, I just felt strange. Luckily when I arrived at the meeting place, there were already other tourists waiting, so I was in the right place. Then the bubbly energetic guide arrived to walk us to the bus. We were the last to be picked up, so we didn't get much of a pick of seats. I wasn't sure if there were empty seats at the back, so I quickly chose an empty seat next to a girl. Then I got quite annoyed during this morning trip. I always can tell when people don't shower and I just couldn't stand it. My hatred towards smelly people is in direct proportion to my love towards people who smells nice. I tried to be calm and be a better person but I'm just not really that person. Anyways, got a break at a stop for toilet and breakfast before reaching Granada. I already had breakfast so I didn't get any other food and I quickly went inside the bus first so that I got to sit by the window. I thought it would make me feel better. I guess it somewhat did. I realized then that the girl was so young, like a teenager.
So arriving in Alhambra, we were split to English and Spanish speaking and we got a different guide. A licensed one who studied arts history (if I'm not mistaken) and she explained a lot. Alhambra means the Red One because the colours of the structures on the outside is reddish. She told us to think of Alhambra as a city. Yes there's palaces and stuff, but many people who supported the palace also lived within the walls. Usually I like exploring by myself, but the whole compound is so big that it's really good to have a guide to walk you through this. If I had done it on my own, I may have missed stuff. The whole tour lasted like 3 hours and we even had a break in between. It was quite a lot of walking, but the weather was good. The day before it was hot, but that day in Alhambra, it was pleasant.
My tour included a walking tour of the little town of Albaicín. We're driven there. Some people stopped their tour in Alhambra, so there were empty seats and I finally got to sit on my own. That made things so much better. Anyway, in Albaicín we were given time for lunch first. I was a bit worried with the timing because I don't think there's enough time and the restaurants were busy. I managed to sit down and next to me there's an Indian couple who was in the tour too. They're like mom and dad age. I asked if they're from India, the dad said yes, but actually they're American. The wife said she usually answers that she's from Texas when people asked. I said they should since they're Americans :D I ordered octopus which was great. Side note: went to a Spanish restaurant with la Gioia on Friday and we ordered octopus and it wasn't that great and more expensive :( End of side note. I quickly ate my lunch and then went to buy water. The shop was an ice cream shop, so I had ice cream too :D When on vacation, indulge yourself people. Anyway Albaicín was okay. It's not super cute or anything. Houses were white and some of them decorated with flowers and ceramics.
:) eKa @ 11:57:00 AM • 0 comments
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Day 4 - Leaving Lisbon And Off To Seville
he said,why why, what a terrible time to be alive
if you're prone to over thinking and
why why, what a terrible time to be alive
if you're prone to second guessing
Pretty Shining People - George Ezra
One of the thing my mom often tells me now that she's gotten used of me travelling alone is that to stay alert and not to get into my own thoughts so much that I daydream or get dazed. Indonesian has 1 word to express that deep into thoughts, daydream, daze situation, that is melamun. In English, I need so many words to describe it. Well perhaps what she needs to be telling me now, which I realize now is a frequent occurrence with me, is to not give so little time when I need to be somewhere. I realize I may have a problem with this because of the so many, "Please God help me" that I say when I feel like I'm getting late. So that's kinda what happened when I was trying to leave Lisbon. By the way, for photos from Lisbon, please click here.
So just like when I arrived, I was also taking Aerobus to go to the airport. When I got out from my hotel, I saw there's a bus at the bus stop, but I couldn't run with my luggage and cobblestones. So it left and I had to wait at the bus stop for like 20 minutes or so, maybe more. When another bus came I was so happy. But then when it passed Praça do Comércio and Cais Sodré, the traffic was heavier and it was taking too long and I started to get worried :( I had checked in online so hence I wasn't rushing to the airport, but with the bus getting stuck in traffic I wondered if I'd miss the window for luggage drop off :( As I was sitting in the bus, I realized the bus would actually go to Rossio which was near my hotel. I could have walked to Rossio when I saw that first bus that I missed and managed to catch it there. Oh the worry, very worried. I kept on checking my watch and asking God to help me. We left city center and I didn't know how far more the airport was. Then the bus made a turn and suddenly I saw the airport and it was like hallelujah! I made it. Thank God!!! I knew the right way would be going to Rossio to catch the bus but now thinking about dragging my luggage through the cobblestone, I may have stuck to just using the bus stop nearer to my hotel. Yes, I'm stubborn and apparently don't learn well.
The airline that I took to Seville was Tap Portugal. If I'm not mistaken, that's the only airline flying there. Managed to drop my luggage on time. The guy at the counter offered in perfect English if I wanted him to print a boarding pass for me. He had difficulty scanning the one in my phone. I said yes of course, delighted to hear his perfect English. Had some time in the airport and bought a box of egg tarts, but they weren't good because they're not freshly baked. Had some of them which caused me to feel full and not eat my in-flight sandwich. The airline also gave us egg tart too. Very Portuguese I guess. The flight was full and I sat at the very back, but all was okay. By the way, I thought the whole of Schengen would be in the same time zone, but Portugal is not. It's 1 hour behind Spain. I only learned of that a few days before I left for my trip. Assumption, never a good thing. Anyway arrived in Seville, got my luggage and found the stop for the bus. There was already a queue for the EA bus, luckily I made it. The fare is 4 euro. Got to the correct stop and my hotel is short walk away. Chose this hotel for 2 reasons. I needed a hotel that's easy to access with the public transport. Except for the time I went to America and one time in London, normally I take buses or trains to get from airport to the hotel, hence I always choose a hotel that is near to the stop. The second reason is because this hotel is near the Seville train station, Santa Justa, which only now I realize is the same name as that lift in Lisbon that I had to queue for so long. As such I did know that the hotel I chose is not near the old town. I accepted that. The other hotels that the EA bus passes through are not quite city center too, so I thought the one I chose was the best one for me. This hotel was more expensive than the one in Lisbon, but I don't think it's better. It was bigger and I had so much more space. The bed could fit 3 people; when I laid in the middle and I stretched my arms, I couldn't reach the end, but overall I don't think it's value for money.
Anyways, after I put my things, I thought I should just quickly go with the plan which was to visit Plaza de España and the Parque de Maria Luisa. It's important to make the trip also because I would be trying out the C1 and C2 bus that I needed to take to go nearer to Seville old town and then to come back. Both the C1 and C2 bus stops are near my hotel, so that's good. As the bus went, I thought well Seville is quite a city city. Passed a mall, a soccer stadium, and a university before I got down at Prado San Sebastian. When I headed out, I think it was 4 pm something and it was hot. I made it to Plaza de España and it was quite interesting. It was big and actually it houses many government offices. There were many tourists. Saw a flamenco dancer in one section. Of course there were people selling souvenirs. There's also like a small waterway where people can row boats in them.
When I got back to my room, I realized the room didn't have a kettle so I couldn't actually eat that cup noodle, *sigh* :( I still have it now and haven't tried it. Side note: the day after I found there's like an Asian supermarket nearby the hotel. I didn't go in, but from the window, I saw that there were racks filled with instant noodles and brands that I knew like the Korean ones or Nissin. I didn't spot any Indomie, but somehow seeing all that made me feel like the universe is in good order again :) Anyway, suddenly there's a knock at the door. When you're a girl travelling alone, I don't know if you welcome a knock in your room. I did open the door and there's a hotel staff bringing me a free welcome tray and a bottle of water. Yay! That's a first. Never experienced something like that before. Yeah the hotel was nice, but I still don't think the hotel is value for money. The tray consisted of chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, and gummy jellies. So I had all that and the sandwich from Tap Portugal which was unexpectedly very very good (the bread was soft and there was egg) as my dinner. Gotta admit, my first impression of Seville wasn't all that warm and fuzzy and I kinda missed Lisbon that first day, but hey you're always experiencing wonderful things when you travel. Some place may capture your heart more, some may not, but it's always a good experience. At least for me. All my trips have always been good and I thank God for that :)
:) eKa @ 10:58:00 PM • 0 comments
Monday, May 21, 2018
Day 3 - Fátima, Batalha Monastery, Nazaré, and Óbidos
the sun is out, the sky is bluethere's not a cloud to spoil the view
Raining in My Heart - Buddy Holly
Day 3 was spent taking a day tour to Fátima and some other places. The guide asked me why Fátima and I said I was curious. Really, when I booked the tour, I didn't care much for all the other places. I was the first to be picked up and I was expecting the group to be bigger than the trip to Sintra, but it was much smaller. When I found out, I wasn't excited, but the day turned out to be okay. The other people in the group is an older couple from Louisiana. I sat with the lady, Kathy, and his husband, Bubba sat at the front. Maybe it's totally fine for Americans, but I felt weird having to address an older man with Bubba because the sound of that name doesn't sound very mature for me. Anyways, I pretty much talked to Kathy throughout the trip. She was quite chatty :) Upon finding out they're from Louisiana, I told her how I love Duck Dynasty :D She and I are quite in sync on a number of things except for Trump, more on that later.
So Fátima as the guide explained to us, is named after the daughter of Prophet Muhammad. Side note: I just wanted to go to Seville when I planned this trip. To make things easier, I could just have explored Spain thoroughly rather than go to Portugal. However somehow I wasn't that interested to go to Madrid and then Catalunya is having its own identity issue that though I love Barcelona, I thought I should perhaps go somewhere else altogether. Hence I chose Portugal. Without knowing much history, there is a theme in this trip, that is of Moorish influence in this area, an influence that is felt and quite visible in Portugal and the Andalusia territory of Spain. Many of the churches used to be mosques. As the guide said, put a cross and the Virgin Mary, and there you go, you convert a mosque to a church. Kinda the opposite of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul when a church became a mosque. Unfortunately though, I don't think I have learned much Moorish history from this trip. What I know about Fátima is that somehow I know it's quite an important pilgrimage place for Catholics. From the guide, I learned that long time ago 3 children had an apparition of the Virgin Mary here and hence the place became quite famous. One of the thing that me and Kathy agreed on is that our guide was quite all over the place with his explanation. I felt sometime the guide didn't finish his explanation from beginning to end. I Wikipedia-d this place to get more informed. Do the same if you want to learn more.
Arriving at the place, it was not like what I expected. The compound is big, huge. There were many Catholics of course. Saw some people crawling on their knees. I thought they're praying for something, but the guide told me it's for penance. During the time when the kids saw the Virgin Mary, I imagined this place to be more like a field, but now it's just an open place with 2 churches, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima and Basilica of the Holy Trinity. Then there's also another structure that encloses the small chapel that was built to mark the apparition. I know all these were built to accommodate the many pilgrims, but I don't know. Maybe because I'm not a Catholic, I felt nothing. It could also be because I'm such a sinner, on my way down to hell, that I felt nothing :D Sorry God, I don't know, I really felt nothing. I felt a bit of curiosity at the people who were on their knees and crawling, but overall if you ask me if I felt an overwhelming presence, I felt nothing.
We're given time to explore on our own and I started with the modern church, Basilica of the Holy Trinity, which is the building on the left in the picture below. There was a mass going on and I watched a bit from the door. I did feel rather disrespectful for not giving more respect to this place.
Next stop was Batalha Monastery which I thought was more interesting and I wanted so badly to explore more. However we spent little time here :( First of all, the exterior of the monastery is so interesting with its gargoyles, spires, and just all around interesting-ness. Really if only I had more time just to absorb.
We had lunch nearby. All of us ate together. The couple then asked me about healthcare in Singapore :D They're annoyed with Obamacare. Them being from the red state Louisiana, I know they're likely to be Trump supporters. I did wonder if I'd get to meet a Trump supporter on this trip, what would they be like. This couple I met are very nice, but our views of Trumps are so different. I had (and still do) so much to ask, but I chickened out and I didn't. Talks about politics could turn bad and we're on vacations. It would be disastrous if we blew up. I think they chose Trump for economic reasons and they felt that the media is unfair to him. I must have made a face on that remark because Kathy said, you're so not on Trump. We laughed at that. I can't comment on their reasoning for voting Trump for economic reason because I'm not an American who live in America, so I just accepted that as their concerns. However, what about the other reasons that Trump is so awful. If there's one question I wanted to ask is that, okay forget what the media portray him to be, forget about what he did in the past with the likes of Stormy Daniels because that is years ago, Russia investigation hasn't brought definitive damaging proof, but how about what he actually says and tweets. Surely it's not right, surely that is not what you can be proud of having your president do all that. Another question would be, what are your thoughts that the rest of us in this world don't think very highly of him. All that I didn't ask. For me it's precious that God gave me the chance to meet and spend time with them. Sometime we can be so in our group that we think the other side is so different, so so different. However me and Kathy and I guess by extension her husband have things in common. We could talk about pig liver and shared the same thought of not loving the tipping culture in America and grown kids living with their parents. They are nice and friendly and they made the day interesting for me :)
After lunch we went to Nazaré. There's an interesting story regarding Nazaré, involving a cliff and the statue of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding baby Jesus. We went to the cliff and saw the beach below.
Last stop of the day was Óbidos. Seriously I was only focused on visiting Fátima that I didn't care much about the other places, but Batalha Monastery and Óbidos are like the nicest parts of the day. Óbidos is like this very cute village. Very touristy though, there were many tourists. There were also many shops selling souvenirs and stuff. The houses are painted white and some has interesting flowers on them. Óbidos is quite photogenic.
:) eKa @ 10:27:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Day 2 - Belém, Cristo Rei, and More of Lisbon
if it's all rightI wanna kick it with you all night, all night
have a good time
ain't gotta worry 'cause it's all right
it's all right
All Night - Big Boi
Day 2 was spent exploring on my own. I love days when I get to explore on my own. As written in the previous post, the day before I bought the transport ticket. Chose a 24-hour pass. It comes in different options and I chose the one that include ferry to and from Cacilhas because though I was getting lazy I thought I should stick to the plan of visiting Cristo Rei. So this travel card that I chose cost 9.85 euro and you just tap in and out when using public transports. Getting a day pass definitely makes things easier, but you do have to calculate if you will be making enough trips to cover the cost. I think I did.
First stop was to Belém. To go there you take tram 15 and lucky me, the tram starts just in front of my hotel. Did a lot of preparation for every trip, but there's always something I overlooked. Well I didn't look up the schedule, so when I went down to the stop, I found out that I needed to wait some time. When the tram was about to come, a staff came asking people if they had their tickets. I thought this is kinda nice You can buy tickets from him before getting on the tram rather than making the tram driver busy having to handle passengers. The good thing about hopping in on the first stop, all the seats were available. Tram 15 itself is more modern that the other trams and it's longer so it has more seats, however this gets filled out pretty much by the next stop. By the time we reached Praça do Comércio, it was so crowded that newcomers all had to stand. I couldn't remember how long the journey was. Google map would tell you it's 40 mins or so, I guess that's about right.
I changed my plan a bit the more I prepared for my trip, so instead of stopping at the main thing that I wanted to visit, Jerónimos Monastery, I decided to go to Belém tower first and then walk to the monastery. The stop to the tower is 2 stops after the monastery. Everyone mostly got off at the monastery. Some tourists I think got it wrong and got off a stop before the monastery. Anyway basically the tram was emptying out when we reached the monastery. From my stop, it wasn't that far to walk to the tower. I did have my worry that I was going to be lost, but I managed to figure out my orientation and there were other tourists too. I didn't have a plan to enter the tower, because I'm not a fan of walking up enclosed stairs. I wrote this so many times :D The tower itself is not very big and tall. A prince wouldn't have problem rescuing a princess locked up in there. By the time I reached, there was already quite a queue to enter.
For pictures from Belém, please go here. After that the plan was to go to Cristo Rei. So I took tram 15 back (which was really crowded then) to Cais do Sodré where there's a metro station and the ferry terminal that has boats to Cacilhas where Cristo Rei is located. There's also the Time Out Market and though I know it's touristy and most probably gonna be crowded, I thought I'd try my luck there for lunch. To describe Time Out Market in Singapore lingo, it is an atas hawker center. In proper English, it's a more elevated or higher class food court. Higher class food courts are appearing in Singapore too and people do look at it as being snobbish though people actually eat there too, just to try it out so they say :D If Time Out Market appears in Singapore, first I don't know how successful that'll be because hawker centers are everywhere in Singapore. One that positions itself as higher class and is more expensive will most probably be met with some sort of mockery, but you know people here do buy into the hype. So anyways, being the tourist that I was, I was ... being a tourist. I can't explain it any other way why I went there. The food court was crowded and I did wonder if it's a good idea, what if I ordered and couldn't find a seat. Then the next question was what to eat. I think I went around 3 times before deciding. There's Asian food, but no please, I'd just get disappointed. Since I already had three egg tarts, my hunger level wasn't high and so I decided on octopus stew with sweet potato. Most of the places give you beeper that beeps when your order is ready. Found an empty seat nearby, so I sat there while waiting. When my beeper beeped, I quickly went to get my food hoping no one took my place and the cleaning lady nearby didn't clear my bottle of water. It was quite amazing to me that I managed to get a seat. I did have that problem of not having people watching my place when I went to get my food, but I thought if I had been with some people, it would have been difficult to get places for all of us.
What is Cristo Rei? It's this big Jesus statue. It's my first time seeing something like this. The compound is very big and when I was there were not many people. I'm not sure if the church (or is it a chapel because it's not very big) is used for worship every Sunday. Maybe it is. The statue itself is located high up this tower pedestal. It's 6 euro to take the lift up which I did because come on, I made the effort to go all the way there. The lift didn't go all the way up up, there's still some stairs you need to take. I was getting worried because stairs and enclosed space, again I don't do them well. Luckily it's not a lot. The statue still looks very big up close.
The timing was better going back that I straight away went to the ferry after the bus. Again I sat outside. Next was taking the metro from Cais do Sodré to Restauradores. It's not like I'm a fan of metro or subways, but it's nice taking this because common people take this everyday, so it's like getting a peek of the local life. Not gonna lie, there's a moment of confusion on the direction inside the metro station, but I made it. They're actually not far from each other, but I did have to change line. Getting out of Restauradores station, luckily the exit that I chose was quite correct and I didn't have much trouble figuring out my orientation. The plan was to try the 2 ascensors or funiculars nearby. First was the further up, Lavra funicular. Okay it's called ascensor or funicular, but for all intent and purposes, they look exactly like the tram. It's just these ones just go up and down a steep hill. When I arrived at the bottom of Lavra funicular, the tram just arrived. I could go in immediately and took a seat, but we had to wait awhile before setting off. On top, the exit was like a quiet neighborhood. I took a short walk around, found a small park nearby. It had quite an okay view of Lisbon, but I didn't spend a long time there. On the way up with the funicular and as I walked around, I saw a lot of graffiti which is very common in Lisbon, so I just took a few photos of the ones I thought rather interesting. The monster below looked interesting to me :D
:) eKa @ 8:56:00 PM • 0 comments
Sunday, May 13, 2018
just look how far I've felldown in the wishing well
How Soon The Dawn - Jake Bugg
Day 1 was spent taking a day tour to Sintra. The guide who was supposed to pick me up was running late. Luckily he called the hotel to let me know because pick up always gets me nervous, like what if they forgot about me. The group was small. There were 8 of us. A couple from Canada and the rest were from England and seemed to be a family. I only talked to the Canadians. Didn't make an effort to talk to the Brits, nor did they make an effort to talk to me. Small group makes me nervous seriously because I feel like I have to interact with people. With big groups, I can just kinda fly under the radar and be on my own. Anyways, it's not a very long drive to Sintra. In fact it's quite easy to go to Sintra from Lisbon by train. It's just it may get complicated getting to the places of interest from Sintra train station. I chose to take a day tour because it took me to places other than Sintra. In Sintra, the first stop was Pena Palace. Pena Palace is actually inside the large compound of Pena Park. Looking at the map, there seems to be many places of interest inside this park. Unfortunately we didn't explore any of them at all. I didn't mind it actually because I honestly didn't know what to expect and I thought visiting the palace was good enough. From the main entrance there's actually like a small shuttle that bring people up the palace. I'm not sure if it's free. There's a queue and the guide said let's just walk up. The walk up is not so bad. Trees all around, it's kinda nice though the weather was not that cool when I was there. I thought the palace to be quite interesting. Some parts are yellow, some are red. The palace itself is not very big. I actually didn't take a lot of pictures of the exterior of the palace, or the palace as a whole. I think you may need to be at some distance to have a full view of it. This picture below is actually a view from one of the terrace inside the palace.
I did get distracted though on my way to get to the wells. There was like a cave or grotto and I went in it. Some parts of it was lighted so it was kinda cool. There were people taking pictures and I just wanted to get away from them, but instead of going back out and get to the wells, I just went deeper inside the grotto. The deeper I got, it's no longer lighted and it got really dark that I wasn't sure about it. Tried to get some light through my iPod, but it was still dark, then I realized the dumb me had my sunglasses on. Even without it on, it's still dark and the floor felt wet like there's a puddle. However I did hear people and saw a small light at one end, so I went towards those and lo and behold I arrived at the bottom of the Initiation Wells. I knew that it's it because I'd seen pictures however the pictures I saw were from the top and here I was looking at it from the bottom and it took my breathe away, really.
It was really by dumb luck, a wonderful dumb luck. Really have to thank God because His way is better and I often don't have faith. There are stairs enclosing the well and you can use it to go up or down depending on which way you enter the well. I think my picture from the top is even worse. After so many pictures taken all these years, I don't think I'm getting better. All my pictures from the top area really don't reflect how unique and wonderful this place is. When you reach the top, the top entrance is actually not so high up from the ground and I think what's even more wonderful about it is how nondescript the place is if you're looking at its top exterior. It just looks like some mound of plants, you may even miss it. It's like a hidden entrance to a wonderful treasure :)so glad to make it here - by dumb luck my entry was so dramatic but oh the awe I got, took my breath away pic.twitter.com/L3REJS1WPf
— Eka (@ekabuntoro) April 23, 2018
The second part of the trip first took us to Cabo da Roca which is apparently the most western part of Europe. While it can be considered hot when I was in Sintra, here it was chilly with the wind. There were many tourists and there's a group of Korean tourists. It's fun to watch them excitingly taking pictures. Anyway there's a small monument with a cross.
:) eKa @ 12:02:00 PM • 0 comments
Sunday, May 06, 2018
and you can keep your symbols of successthen I'll pursue my own happiness
and you can keep your clocks and routines
then I'll go mend all my shattered dreams
maybe today, yeah, I'll slip away
I'll Slip Away - Sixto Rodriguez
Somehow a song from Sixto Rodriguez has been featured in my travel playlist for the past years, so I thought it's good to start this year travel post with him. Still haven't watched the documentary Searching for Sugar Man though :( This year's pilgrimage to see the world took me to Lisbon and Seville. The following 3 paragraphs were written on Sunday, April 22 and lightly edited today.
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On the day I left for my trip, it was a usual Saturday. Went to class then went to pray. Making time to pray is something that I always do since my first alone trip. Then I had a good soto for lunch and I quickly went back because I wanted to take some nap. I tried, but I didn’t manage to sleep. Woke up, showered, and quickly did my Japanese homework which luckily wasn’t a lot. My room can be quite stuffy so I was getting a headache. By the way the week of my departure started with me being rather sick, also foresighted in the last post. I went to see Dr. Ed, got antibiotics and cough med. Somehow I still managed to get the cough and I was quite weak that first few days of the week. Towards the end I was finally showing signs of gaining strength and feeling better. However that Saturday with the dizziness, I started to get worried. I didn’t get a good sleep the night before because I was kinda freaking out. It’s weird actually. There were less anxiety when I was preparing this trip than usual. So the night before, it felt like all the subdued anxiety just came charging. So anyway back to Saturday evening, I completed packing then called home. Mom wasn’t home, so talked to dad. Then mom got home and called home again and then at 10 something, I went to the airport. Luckily I didn’t have difficulty getting taxi, but I started to feel sick inside the taxi. It could be simple motion sickness, but since I haven’t been feeling healthy I wonder if it’s vertigo :( That thought really troubled me because of the bad vertigo attack last year right after I had to deal with flu and such. Anyways didn’t vomit, didn’t have a blackout, made it all the way to the plane. Lucky because though I was shaky getting out the taxi, I eventually felt better.
First flight was to Amsterdam. I tried to get some sleep, but couldn’t really. All and all I think I had very little sleep starting this trip. Movies watched were: Call Me By Your Name (love Timothée Chalamet!), Loving Vincent, The Florida Project, an episode each of Cake Boss and Young Sheldon. Saw a bit of Claws too, but I don’t like it much. Arrived in Schiphol. Followed the direction, did a security check before passport control and I found it odd because I thought it was passport control first. Didn’t even find passport control until much later that I wonder if I missed something or if there’s no passport control for transiting passengers which would be totally weird and unlike what I've been through before. Then I found the passport control and its in the same location as my first time in Schiphol. The situation was rather the same too - there’s quite a queue and I didn’t have much time ‘til my next departure. I wondered if the same thing was going to happen to me again. I was also nervous with the fingerprinting scan ‘cause I often have problems with that. When it’s my turn, the officer was taking a call. I didn’t pay attention if he called or he was called. Waiting for him and his call, I couldn’t help thinking if what happened that first time was happening again!!! It didn’t though and I breezed through after some simple questionings, didn’t even have to be fingerprinted. Then I quickly made my way to the gate.
What happened next was a first for me. Got on the plane. Plane went to the runway then I realized instead of taking off, it made a turn. Okay I thought at this point maybe it’s giving way to the plane behind us who’s perhaps quite late, but then the plane made it back to gate. Pilot said there’s discrepancy in their system so they needed to get it checked. Okay I thought, good to be safe. I was sitting at the window, I sure didn’t want to get sucked out. We got a refuel and the equipment was changed. Passengers were given cookies and water. Then okay finally we’re good to go, only that we’re not. Pilot said the equipment just didn’t work so we needed to go back so that tech can just remove it and then we’re good to go. By this time I got annoyed. I have finished writing these 3 paragraphs by then. All and all we were seated for 2 hours or so I think. Eventually we made it. Flight time was 2 hours plus. I struggled with my bladder throughout. When you’re lacking sleep and just tired, figuring your way on a new city can be more challenging mentally. At least for the anxiety ridden me. Thank God I found the Aerobus stop easy enough at the airport and got off at my stop and found my hotel easy enough.
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Okay continuing the story. As mentioned, got on the bus and stopped at my stop, Praça da Figueira. As usual I studied maps a lot before any trip, so I kinda knew my direction and as I got down I saw my hotel. As I set my luggage and started walking, I was like wait is it all cobblestone?!? It's so uncomfortable dragging your luggage through this, which by the way is more properly known as Portuguese pavement. I just wanted to be off as soon as possible. It's kinda fine if you're just walking, but with heavy luggage, not fun. Anyways, got to my hotel. Since the plane was late, I got in late and could quickly get to my room. My room was nice and it offers a view of Praça da Figueira which I didn't take even 1 picture, sorry. After setting things, I went to explore the Alfama area. Initial plan was to start from Sé Cathedral and then make my way to the different viewing points which would require a climb up in this hilly area. Thanks to obsessive studying, I found the 2 elevators that I could use. First was Elevador Castelo which brought me up to another street. In this street, there's a supermarket, Pingo Doce, which has an elevator that brings us up to another street. From here, we're already quite high up and it's not that difficult anymore to explore the different viewing points. The climb is minimal at this point. There's many direction pointing to São Jorge Castle, but I didn't visit it because I think I've visited enough of castles and I have not much interest in them anymore. Walking around the streets and looking at the alleys, it's quite interesting.
:) eKa @ 1:21:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Hi guys, how has your weekend be? Mine is rather bad both physically and mentally. Physically my body has been going really bad. It's like everything is breaking down and I am quite stressed out about it. Had to see Dr. Ed the other day and the sympathetic him said don't stress out and let's get you better. Am I better? Well not really, I even have other issues now that I may need to see him again soon :( The other day when I had to see him, it was already quite expensive and now I may end up spending more :( On the mental front, things are going just as bad. I am sad and frustrated and pretty much in despair. I want to give up, but giving up is never a good thing to do though some people may say you need to quit a battle you cannot win. I am attributing all the suckiness to this being a dog year and hence everything is harder for me (the dog people as mentioned before). Big moves may not be in my favor this year, but if I cannot make a big move such as walking away, will I end up dead in a battle I cannot win? There is not an ounce in me that says, "Come on, you are awesome, you have gone through things you thought were not possible and yet you pulled through, believe in your power". Nope, no such pep talk, my whole being is just sad. My whole being just want the world to stop and leave me alone and not ask me for anything. I am so tired, so just tired, mentally and physically. My body feels like they're rebelling because of the emotional distress.On other news, finished book 1 of the year, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell. This being April, I think I am moving rather slowly. Keeping in schedule might be hard. Schedules and me really are not going well this year. So Swamplandia! is mostly about 3 siblings that lived in an alligator theme park. The book started with the point of view of the youngest, 13-year old Ava, but then it alternates with his older brother, Kiwi. I wonder why middle sister, Osceola, didn't get her own chapters to tell her story. Anyways, maybe for inspiration I should look at Kiwi who kept on trying even though he realized that the odds were against him when he left the comfort of his home. However right now, I don't even want to try. As I said, I want people to leave me alone. Back to the book, spoiler coming, skip this paragraph if you want to read the book. At one point in the story, Ava, the 13-year old, found herself alone without anyone in her island home. Her dad and siblings all left and that day a stranger happened to come by and Ava invited the man to stay. I was like, girl what are you doing?!?! Nothing happened and then the man offered to help Ava find her sister. So they went on a boat trip in the swamps. I don't know if it's because I was reading from Ava's point of view that I was seeing things from a childish innocence or it's because I let my guard down as nothing happened on that first few nights that the man was with Ava, that when he finally raped Ava, I was shocked and in disbelief. I felt stupid and fooled. I'm not angry at the book, perhaps the writer did such a good job that I was lulled into believing that the man was good, but you know I was pissed and really sad for Ava. The whole episode made me think that when you get raped, I guess you have to make a decision - just accept it and live or try to fight but you may die. Ava just accepted it, well she didn't quite understand it. After the ordeal, she did make a run for it and I was afraid she would die. She was so brave and she lived and she really was extraordinary. I don't know how I feel about the ending, but perhaps whatever difficulty that they had, though they lost their theme park, as Ava said they're finally together as a family and that's a precious thing. As someone who live without a family, I know it's hard. Yes I do have a family, but they're not with me. Being a lone wolf can be really hard sometime. Now I'm reading Tinkers by Paul Harding. Thinner book, bigger font, so I should be able to finish quite fast, but we'll see.
These past weeks in Japanese class, we've been talking about 生きがい (ikigai) or reason to live. There's also question like 今幸せですか (ima shiawase desuka = are you happy?). Truly not a thing I like to talk about because if you've been reading, you know I'm always depressingly sad. There's also a questionnaire with question if you're satisfied with your life. My classmates, being the interesting people that they are, some answered no to that :D Everyone has their own tribulations I guess. To that I answered somewhat, because to answer no feels like not acknowledging God's blessing. As for 生きがい, me and some classmates answered no, we don't have any which is a sad thing I admit. If you have no reason to live, why, how are you living? But that's the truth for me and I guess that's why I am sad all the time. I'm like directionless. I don't have that one reason to keep walking to, reason to keep on living. Some classmates and sensei were giving examples that I found to be rather trivial that I said, shouldn't your reason to live be something more profound? Yes, I am quite a snob. I think a good reason to live will be like to make sure that your existence is not a waste, to be a useful person, to be helpful to others. I want that to be my 生きがい, and yet right now in everything I do, I find no meaning it it. As I told my classmates, I'm just surviving, which is a very selfish thinking. I'm just making sure I survive but what's the point of my survival? Perhaps my classmates and sensei are right, find joy in the simple and fun things. Maybe I'm making things difficult by overthinking it. I don't know.
:) eKa @ 9:24:00 PM • 0 comments
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