chapter 10 : venice.

Image by BillT via Flickr

finally i’ve reached the last post of this series. almost 6 months after the trip has actually ended. i’m actually supposed to be learning my german, but i am doing this instead, cos i just want it to be finished before we reach a new year. but does this also means that i have not been talking about my life in zürich for the past 6 months. hmm. it could be said to be the most transitional time of my life. i just feel so old now, and it doesn’t help that i’m gonna reach a male maturity age soon.

the last few hundred meters of the train tracks that we rode over were actually hovering over the small strait that separates the venice islands from the italian mainland. it was burning hot as we went out of the train to set foot on the sinking island of venezia, the bright sun means that it is an excellent time to put your tinted sunglasses to good use. on the islands of venice there is no motorised traffic allowed, not so much because of the small roads and tight turns, but more because cars would have a really hard time finding ways among the sea of people that wander around the place. instead, they have water taxies that transport people to other islands which are not connected to the main island by bridges. it is one of my disappointment during the trip, not to be able to ride on one of these water taxies, mostly because i was running short on cash in the last leg of the trip.

we needed to pay close attention to the directions on our hostel booking in order to find our hostel, the venice fish. when we arrived in front of the hostel, we were still not quite sure that it was it, it didn’t even look like any other hostel we’ve stayed in. the only clues were people drinking, shouting and laughing loudly on the balcony. once we were in, it looked like a chaos, there is no real separation between the sleeping, eating and playing areas, all are just jumbled into one. but i liked it, reminded me of my room . luckily enough, out of an overbooking mistake, we got to sleep in another bed & breakfast that belonged to the same owner, although i was certainly the only guy with 12 other girls. but who cares, it was certainly much better to sleep on a more comfortable bed and in a quieter environment, which i really needed later.

i don’t want to call venice a city, cos it would really give a really false impression of the place. but it was really beautiful. you will be left to wonder just how the people managed to build all of that hundreds of years ago. the houses, the canals, the bridges, and don’t even start with the piazza san marco. and it serves justice that thousands of people flock to see this wonder, which makes venice a really crowded place. more crowded than any one place i’ve been in on the trip. i would advice, if you go there in a group, try not to be separated, cos there is almost zero chance to find your needle in that haystack. i was too tired of finding my way among crowds at that point of the trip that i searched for much quieter places. i actually found an art exhibition, where a music made by indonesian fishermen in hong kong was showed. what are the chances right?! but there are sure to be many interesting stuffs to be found in every corner of venice, no matter what your interests are.

that night, i went to the venice fish for free dinner. that’s really how you know that this place is full of drunks, where the hostel serves free dinner instead of breakfast. and it was proven straight after dinner, people just start to gather around the big dining table to play some drinking games. no time was wasted. the rules were explained, everybody agreed, and it began. when your glass is empty, ask for some from the guy with the bottle. when the bottle is empty, then we searched for booze left by people who checked out that morning, and the bottles of wine and liquor above the fridge are free for all to enjoy. it didn’t stop for hours, only after we ran out of game ideas, and there were no more bottles on top of the fridge that we decided to go out and find out venice at night. the first stop was the alcoholic juice stall on the side of the street, which makes the best strawberry juice i’ve ever tried. then there were also a couple of bars that we visited. i did not stay that long, just long enough to know that i’ve had enough. now, the hard part was finding my way back in the dark and winding venice roads. it was at least an hour walk till i reached the door of the b&b. on the way back, i passed by the juice stall again, and the lady remembered me and gave me a re-energising shot to continue my walk home. i must really thank my sense of direction for leading me to my bed even in the worst of conditions, and that’s where a comfy bed comes handy.

Image via Wikipedia

and the place itself is really beautiful and i can’t in my ability even try to describe how it is. i only saw the piazza san marco from outside and it was already jaw dropping. i would go into the basilica if i would have the money. but i didn’t. and there are still many corners of the place that i have not discovered yet. i am leaving it out for the next time that i am going there. and as many people say, do go there before it sinks.

and there it is. the trip was over after venice, the last stop on our list. we went back to zürich and dee flew not long after back to malaysia. the holiday was over and we all went back to live our lives. this trip like many other things, has really again opened my eyes. the more you find out, the more that you realise how much you actually know. so cheers and enjoy travelling!

chapter 9 : rome.

Image via Wikipedia

hey guys. not really much news to be told this time round. except that it has been snowing non-stop for days over here, but i know someone would be very happy about it. i’m gonna stop working soon, but my last week on the job will be really tough. and i am still learning german on the side. it’s really strange, i found that i can speak much better and more fluently if i speak to other non-native speakers, but it’s not the case once i try to speak with the swiss or germans. maybe one reason why is the fact that i am actually trying to speak the swiss german dialect at work, which might really be useful in my interactions with the locals in the long run, but i always find it difficult to change from speaking one language to another, it appears like my brain needs to reboot every time i do that. it doesn’t help that my english competency gradually gets worse, as my german improves.

it was a long train ride along the coast of france and italy that brought us from nice to rome. but the mediterranean sea was always so beautiful every time it is in sight. we arrived late in the afternoon at the roma termini, and we were instantly faced with an irony. the hostel in rome was supposed to be the closest away from the train station, but it was not the easisest to find. what was supposed to be a 10 minutes walk became an hour process. we then (finally) arrived in the hostel in which we were supposed to stay, but due to some plumbing problems we could not sleep there for the first night. luckily, the owner was responsible enough to find us another room to sleep in. but it wasn’t that simple, the owner actually gave us a scribbled note in bad english which was supposed to explain the situation, but only made it worse. the note was so convincing, that when i first saw it and did not understand shit, i thought it was my english that has already gone down the drain. but i was relieved when i saw the same expression on dee’s face when she tried to read it. and the fact that i have an italian name did not help either, cos then he tried to explain the problem in italian, wtf, non parlo italiano! okay, after we (finally) figured what the problem was, we were escorted to the room we were gonna sleep in, it was not that far away, and the room was quite decent, so no complain there. but we were so freakin hungry at that point in time that we decided to head straight out to find something to eat, pasta preferably. we then walked out, until we saw a really big group of people around a corner of a street who were amassed around a large square in front of a church. we then thought, let’s check it out. we went there, battled against the crowd to find a decent standing place, then asked around what was happening. and the answer, and i shit you not, was that the pope was coming to that church. shit, then we had a dilemma, eat or see the pope? we then decided to wait, but the whole procession took ages, there were definitely numerous times that i almost gave up. when the pope finally arrived, he was standing on an elevated moving stage, waving around to the people around the square, and after a 5 minutes appearance, he was gone. finally, dinner time.

rome is such an antique place. everything seems so old, the buildings, the streets, and just about everything else. the scale of the monuments are also just ridiculously huge. not only the ones from the past, but also the newer ones, check out the monumento a vittorio emanuele II, at first sight, you might think that it was build centuries past, but it is rather new, but the size of it is just unbelievable. it is my favourite monument in the whole city just because of that. the trevi fountain was also really beautiful, was rather difficult to find, but the clear water, an oasis in the heat of rome’s summer, and the promise that it would grant your wish if you throw a coin over your back to the fountain, were really worth it. then there was of course the pantheon, with the huge gaping hole in the ceiling, i would really want to see it when it rains, just to see where the water actually goes, and the piazza navona was something to behold, the fountain in the middle of the square keeps a deeper meaning and history that one must find out. and the collection of street artist was also pleasing on the eye.

i guess it was on our last day in rome that we went to the vatican. the vatican museum was just ridiculous, in there you can see all of the “presents” that the popes received for centuries. i am sure that most of the stuffs on show were once plundered or stolen from conquered areas, and given to the pope as a thank you for his support in all of these campaigns. after seeing all that, i am not so sure now if louvre actually has more art pieces than the vatican museum. and just like what happened in paris, i got sick of art pretty quickly after entering this museum. the large amount of people going through the museum also slowed our pace to that of a snail. but then we finally arrived at the pope’s study, where the school of athens is painted on the wall. i’ve always imagined it to be much larger, but seeing it with your own eye was quite an experience. then we needed to again walk in crawling speed until we reached the sistine chapel. we were supposed to maintain silence in that room, but with at least 500 tourists inside, it was rather impossible. being in a room from which you have heard numerous stories and tales was also quite unreal. then we went to the st. peter’s basilica, it was huge, and what i didn’t know was that you can attend a mass in it, but i did not. next on the list was to go up to the top of the basilica, there was two option, take the stairs all the way which is cheaper, or take a lift up to a mid point and then the stairs all the way up. well, i am not cheap, so i decided to pay more, and what a good investment that was, i would have really passed out, having to climb all the way, even from the mid point, i was already exhausted at times, and it did not help that at some parts, the stairs are actually slanted following the curve of the ceiling of the basilica, i felt like a ninja. but i must say, the view from up there might be the best one can get of the city of rome.

Image via Wikipedia

i wouldn’t say that this was the highlight of my trip, but it was certainly a great fun roaming around this city. maybe our itinerary was just too packed and we tried to see too much in too little time, which made us really tired in this leg of the trip. but all in all, it was worth it and we really got to see some amazing stuffs.

chapter 8 : côte d’azur.

Image via Wikipedia

it’s december already?! time for the mother of all clichés: time really flies. this time of the year is always exciting for me, holidays, christmas, new year, my birthday! 3 punch-jabs of festivities. but this time round might be more special, since it will mark a year since i have been living in switzerland, and more significantly, living a brand new lifestyle. without realising it myself, my life has changed a great deal, learning one of the most difficult languages in the world from scratch up to the level i am in now (it’s not perfect, but i try), having no school, having to find friends and acquaintances in ways that i have never done before, new weekly routines, and getting my first job. kaapoow! (–>is that an appropriate sound effect?!) well, it’s not the time for reflection yet, gotta get this series done. in the meantime, enjoy the christmas trees creeping up all over the place and the snow flakes gliding down in your screen as you’re reading this. (do you know you can change its direction with your mouse pointer?! –>easily impressed)

after a long two-legged train ride on the speedy train à grande vitesse, we arrived in nice. and i tell you what, it was fucking hot out there! feels like i am back in jakarta, just more beautiful. (side note: i love jakarta’s ugliness!) it was not simple to get up to our hostel, we needed to take a tram to get to a shuttle pick up point, where we then needed to wait quite a while for the shuttle bus to come. a lot of planing was then required to get in and out of the city centre, and being back for the last shuttle bus became a necessity. but once we arrived at the place, it was actually quite nice.

i then went on a lone walk. this is one thing that i realised about myself, my curiosity of a new place borders being a mental disorder. it appears that i don’t like not knowing the way and direction, and every corner of the road just intrigues me. that might be the reason why i spent long hours in many cities that i visited just walking around without any destination or purpose. i seldom get lost, but i like it when i do, cos then i get a better feel of the place, and it improves my sense of direction. and while we are in the topic, i like the europeans old towns, cos they do not have a dead-end, despite looking all jumbled up and unorganised. back to the walk: i just picked a direction and kept walking forward. it was quite easy to orientate cos the hostel is on a hill, and nice is a very hilly place, and you can always catch a glimpse of the beach. i saw on my walk, a monastery, a big garden, some ruins of the historical types, and lots of big expensive villas. however, there are also stretches of areas that are quite run down. the main source of entertainment for people here seems to be a nice expensive dinner, drinks, and partys, there are no decent cinemas or any other mainstream entertainment centres to be found. but i was on the square in the centre, and there were actually a lot of spectacles to be seen, apparently street artists thrive in nice, and their skills were well above mediocre. then, a turn to a corner of the road brought me to the best part of that evening, it led me to the pier. it was at that moment in time and space, that i decided, that my definition of rich would be having a kick ass yacht. i actually spent some time hanging around the pier, thinking about the kind of yacht that i would get, if a billionaire would give me a lot of money for no particular reason. and you can only realise it once you are up close, yachts are fucking huge. they can fit the whole of my extended family both in indonesia and switzerland, and we would still have ample places. at the end i got distracted by one thing though, just as a huge wooden sailing ship actually docked at the pier. then i decided, i would rather build myself a ship and name it black pearl, like a boss.

the next morning we went to tour the city centre of nice with some other hostel guests led by the manager of our hostel. the sea is gorgeous by the way, if you have not figured yet. blue as far as you can see to the horizon. however, the beach in nice is not sandy, but instead stony, and that’s the reason why people go to other beaches if they wanna spent a lot of time on the beach. the fruit market in the city centre should really be checked out, it was just too colourful to miss. then we took a bus up to eze, where a mini village is situated on top of a hill that oversee the beach, the old buildings on the peak of the hill is a wonder if you ask me, just imagine how the people in the middle ages brought all the materials up there to build all those, that’s what you call a shitty job. and there was also this perfume shop, where you can ask for a tour around the mini museum and factory, the informations were in french though, could not understand a thing.

then the trip went further, this time, a bus ride brought us from eze to monte carlo. talk about high life man. first destination: no other than the casino! sadly though, the old casino building has been modified to be an opera of some kind, and we could only enter if we would sell ourselves to pay for the entrance fee. maybe they have some high stakes gambling going on inside. in front of the entrance to the building though, luxury cars line up like shoes on a rack. i try to stay metres away, knowing that a scratch on that mc-laren f1 would cost me much more than all the money i’ve seen in the whole of my life. but then there is a casino for the laymen, in a building adjacent to the old casino. unlike the ones in singapore, i could already go in and gamble, woohoo. at first i didn’t want to though, i was just looking around, but then some gleaming lights in front of my face gave me no other choice, they have and-i-am-not-shitting-you star wars slot machines!! i took out a 5 euro note out of my wallet (see how stingy i was), put it into the machine, it gave me some credit to start playing, and i just pressed a button that sends the imaginary barrel on the screen spin around. i could not understand a thing, at the end of the turn, there were just pictures of the millennium falcon, jar-jar binks, r2-d2, wookies and darth vader scattered around. the lack of any conceivable pattern meant that i lost money on that turn, which repeated itself in the 2nd and the 3rd and the 4th turn. i almost lost all of my money, but then i thought, what the hell, losing 5 euro in a casino would already be a cool enough story. however, just after i used my last spin, the machine found a strange-looking pattern that gave me 5.6 euro! what the crap, i am actually winning money in a casino! who the hell bloody cares if it’s 60 cents. i then cashed out from that machine, which meant that the machine printed me a coupon from which i could get my winnings on the counter. however, just as i was walking towards the counter, i saw this old-school looking slot machine with a lever, and i was really tempted to try, just pulling the lever. so i thought, i was content with losing 5 euro in the star-wars machine seconds ago, i might as well lose the 5.6 euro in this slot machine. then i inserted the coupon to this machine and it then also gave me some credit to play, and i was just pulling the lever like a kid in a toy store. this time around, it actually took a lot more turns for me to actually almost lose all of my money. and then on the last pull, i shit you not, i fucking got 10 euro from that one turn. as the prophet charlie sheen said: i am winning! then the same thing happened, i ask the machine to print out the coupon, walked in the direction of the counter, but then there it stood, a f-ing blackjack table. i was scared as shit to join the table that i almost peed in my pants, the people there look so composed, cool and professional. i called for back-up. dee then came to stand beside me at the table. the minimum to join the table was 10 euro and that was all that i got. the first turn was really make it or break it, win or go home. the dealer then dealt the cards, instantly it became clear to me that i suck balls in addition and blackjack, i was taking so long to think about my cards and the next step. however, out of some miracle, i won the first round, and with that doubled my money. i was such a wuss, and that’s why i only put in another 10 in the next turn, and in this turn i was still very slow at making decisions, until dee was shouting instructions beside me, telling me what to do, but it bloody paid off, i won again on the 2nd turn. after that, i was just following dee’s instructions for the subsequent turns, and i won the 3rd, and again the 4th, and again the 5th. megakill! then i made a pact, the first time that i lose, i would leave the table. i still won the 6th turn, but lost the 7th, and i really did went away, with some playing chips on my hand worth 60 euro. crap. from almost losing 5 euro to winning 60, i ended up winning and going home at the same time. literally, like a boss!

Image via Wikipedia

then we also went to see the palace of the furst of monaco, but it was closed for the wedding preparation. but it wasn’t for naught, cos we actually found a yellow submarine in the area, just in front of the monaco’s version of the seaworld, and took one of the few pictures in which i am featured in on the trip. côte d’azur is a very beautiful place, adjectives fail to describe. and really suitable for people wanting to taste the thrill of a jet set life. i will definitely go again to check out other beaches such as cannes and st. tropez. one of the highlight of my trip.

chapter 6 : amsterdam.

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to begin with, i wanna wish a glorious national day and a forgiving ramadhan for all the indonesians out there. i have been meeting more and more indonesians in the past few weeks and it is just pleasant to converse in a language that comes as most natural to me. and that’s not even including the amazing food i have been stuffing stomach with, familiar tastes touching the tip of my tongue just brings back numerous sweet memories of the past.

it has been quite a while ago, the time i was actually in amsterdam. but my memory is still as clear as i was just there yesterday, or should i say, as clear as it could be considering the circumstances. let’s just agree that we all have a pre-conceived idea on amsterdam, and all of them are just true, considering i woke up in the night-train as it was reaching amsterdam to an announcement saying “welcome to amsterdam! beware of pickpockets” and that one of the recommended tags that came up after i wrote the title was “red-light district”.

amsterdam is a real beauty in its own way by mixing both orderliness and disorderliness, not just a balance between the two, but the both of them existing harmoniously together. you can’t help but admire the shape of the city with its extensive canal, structured network of streets and simple purpose-built houses. and you will also then admire how cars and swarms of cyclers can navigate through the narrow roads, the “openness” of its most famous district, and the omnipresent scent of burnt cannabis.

first thing first, as soon as i stepped out of the train, one thing struck my mind. i am not in a german speaking area anymore, they are speaking dutch here, i am helpless, i can’t communicate with anybody or understand anything, or at least i should not be. but it was not the f-ing case. i could understand perfectly almost all the signs around the train station. well, on one hand, german and dutch came from the same family of germanic languages, and that explains how i could make sense of the grammar and understand many words. but, on the other hand, i was actually seeing many indonesian words on those signs. it should not have been that surprising knowing that the dutch was in indonesia for three-and-a-half century, of course they would leave some mark in the language. but it is always something else, rationalising  in a matter of retrospect, than actually seeing evidences provided bluntly in front of your face. i was really fixated at finding linkages between the languages the whole time i was there.

one of the first thing we visited there was the sex museum, self-proclaimed the biggest in the world, but i somehow believed them. it was really a bargain at 4 euros, looking at how much interesting stuffs they have to show, ranging from funny to disgusting. i am not gonna spoil it for those people who are planning to go there, but you should visit no matter how disgusting you find sexual activities are.

another thing that i visited, was the heineken experience. not that i would not know theoretically how to brew a beer, but it was worth it to know the history of the most celebrated commercial beer in the world (i still think those who say heineken is the best beer in the world are mostly mindless trend-followers who have not tried a wide enough variety of beers) and also it was the first time i saw a factory-sized brewery with its monstrous processing machines. the have also got very modern and interesting installations for the tourists though, really enjoyed following their program. at the end, i got myself a heineken bottle to add to my collection, with my name printed on the front logo.

now let’s dive to the red-light district. when you think that it only opens its doors when the night has fallen, you would be hugely mistaken my friend. they almost seem to run around the clock. only that its atmosphere gets heightened when darkness starts to hover above it and the water of the canals reflects the colourful neon lights that barely light up the area, which creates a perfect stage for our minds to go loose and imagine all the misdeeds that one can do in this place, when one falls for the seducing lure of temptation. but then again,  i was again surprised when i walk through this intimidating street, many of these women who are presenting themselves on these glass cubicles seem to be busy typing on their phones and some are even in conversations with it, only every so often looking up and giving the timid guys walking by a wink that sends them shivers. i then try to rationalise, as i so often do. and the best explanation i got was that they were actually double tasking. while showing what they have got going on in those cubicles, they are also doing erotic call and message services. i mean, there are not many better sweet talkers than these women here in the whole of the netherlands. a really good business model i must say.

did i get stoned? yes. i guess i should stop being too open and saying these stuffs, people are getting to know too much of my bad deeds, and i may actually regret writing this in the future. but i don’t care (yet). in my defense, it might be my last chance to actually do it in amsterdam, since they are trying to usher in a law that bans recreational drugs tourism, so better hurry yourself. for my experience, it was enlightening. we went to this coffeehouse which was highly rated by the staff at my hostel, with one aim in mind, getting a space cake. we arrived, went to the counter, ordered a space cake each, and ate them whole. unlike the cannabis that one smokes, it takes longer until the digested marijuana takes effect, roughly about an hour. so we decided to move out of the cramped coffeehouse and head to the vondelpark, which was an hour walk. so we walked there, awake and sober just like normal people. then we arrived, sat on the green dry grass, then it came. for me the experience is as if an autopilot switch in my brain just got turned on or there was a blockage somewhere in my neck that stops the impulses from reaching my body parts, for as soon as i arrived at the park, i started lying down on the grass, continuously rubbing it with both of my hands and even kissing them, it was as if i fell in love with the grass on the park. despite all that though, i was still conscious of what i do, what is happening all around me, pictures and sounds are coming in crystal clear, but i just lost control of my body for the whole 6 hours i was there. well, i said it was enlightening, i’ll tell you why, it is a thing that you may only do once in your life, it is a scary experience, but i felt as if i have pushed my body closer to the limit, and i felt stronger and braver afterwards. as in, if something bad happens and i am again in this situation, i would know what to expect and do. just one advice, don’t underestimate the effects of a space cake during the digesting time and say things like “nah, it’s bogus. it’s fake, nothing happens”, cause you’ll bloody hell end up the worst and someone like me would need to struggle to get you home.

cheers.

chapter 4 : blue fire megacoaster.

Image via Wikipedia

damn, i knew i said i was gonna write sooner, but apparently i was just not in the right mood to jot anything down. everytime i wanna do it, i resorted instead into watching either shaytards/kassem g/raywilliamjohnson on youtube, watch family guy, or play borderlands. well, but actually it doesn’t matter, cos the trip really made such an impression on me that i remember it just as good as i am still on the exact same day, or maybe it is just cos i do not actually know the things that i forgot, which still means i have not forgotten anything.

so the story goes on, we set ourselves to go to a theme park today. i am not really sure if there is actually a theme park in switzerland, but certainly none that is very interesting. so this theme park that we are going to is actually located in germany. we have got to wake up early to catch the shuttle bus which actually leaves at 7 in the morning. i hate waking up in the morning, i will usually be very sour in the day if i must wake up early to travel, and you can’t really sleep again in the car or bus or train or whatever, no matter how hard you try isn’t it. but i was still very happy that day, which says a lot about this theme park.

we arrived at ‘europapark’ at rust, germany at about 9, and we have gotten the tickets from the bus company that we could get in straight away without queuing anymore. and it was crazy, it was 9 in the morning on a weekday, and there were still so many people there, and each of them were just as eager as we were. europaprk is famous for it’s crazy huge roller coasters, and it is amazing since it was and still is a family business. they started really small, and grew in the more than 30 years of its existence until what it is today, and it is really gigantic. they have sections that are named after the countries in europe, and they really do a good job with the themes, they really fit the countries they represent. in every section you can find distinctive foods from the countries they represent as well, and the foods are really cheap if you are used to the swiss prices. cos everywhere in europe is expensive, but switzerland is ridiculously expensive, which is a common thing you hear from fellow travellers. and they also have shows that are really interesting, the one we watched was some kind of horse riding stunts with some kind of spanish royalty background story. the upkeep has really got to be high, hiring those stuntmen to perform everyday and also the horses. all in all, a really great theme park, a must in your itinerary if you are somewhere near south germany.

the day was great, except that i forced cee to ride the viking ride, you know the one like a big swing, and she really got dizzy after that, as we were having lunch, i felt really bad, i am quite often such an ass, people just need to learn not to always give what i want, cos most of the time i don’t really want it, and i won’t be hurt if people say no, i am not that sensitive.

but i really like the viking ride, but i guess only the guys would share my feeling, and of course cee and dee did not undertand. you guys know what i am talking about, yeah, that special tingling sensation you feel around your crotch every time the viking boat swings down, right? it is an amzing sensation right? it is just a shame that the girls do not feel it, they even shy away when i talk about it, it is nothing sexual, it just the male human biology.

to end the post, i just wanna make a list of the best rides there:

• pegasus + poseidon – greece

these are one of the smaller roller coasters, but the area around it is really pretty, it has got a big pool of water that the coaster rush into almost to the end, splashing a huge amount of water that left you wondering, how on earth, you did not get yourself wet.

• atlantica – portugal

this one is rather similar to the previous two, it also wooshes down into a pool of water at the end, but it is really much bigger. and in the middle, it kinda stopped and changed direction, making the coaster ride backwards, which also give a stronger ‘crotch’ sensation as i have explained above.

• fjord rafting – scandinavia

i’ll take this opportunity to give a shoutout to the people in norway that were victims of the bombing and shooting massacre. i express all my condolences. this ride is the one where you sit on a circular rubber boat, looking at each other, while the boat rushes down along with the stream and water splashing out towards you from all directions. it is similar to the jurassic park ride in universal studios singapore and arung jeram in dunia fantasi jakarta. my proven observation: be careful of what you wish for, if you wish not to be wet, you will be, and vice versa. that is why i have never been totally wet on this rides.

• eurosat – france

this is pretty much the first ride we got on in the morning. i think it is really ingenious. it is an indoor dark  roller coaster. the surprise factor of not knowing what is going to happen really brings up the chill factor, although it is actually not a particularly big coaster as i could see from the available space of the surrounding globular structure. really similar to the mummy’s ride at the universal studios singapore, although minus the glowing mummy faces.

• silver star – france

they say it is the biggest and tallest coaster in the whole of europe, and i believe them, it is monstrous. and it is also sponsored by mercedes benz, which made me wonder why it is actually placed in the french section, oh whatever. this ride is really worth the long queue, and is really a no fuss coaster, none of those spiral or going-round section, just plain up and down. but it is no less scary, it is really so high, that you are basically falling for such a long time, more than you would really want and in such a tight angle that the nearest thing would really be free falling from the top of a building. we even did this ride twice. totally crazy.

• blue coaster megacoaster – iceland

it is really difficult to choose the best between this and the previous, but my heart have already spoken. this is a long coaster ride, and this has got all those going-round, sideways, spiral and whatever section your imaginative mind can think of. but that is not really the highlight. you know, the normal coaster always need to climb up the ramp slowly in the beginning, during which you can brace yourself, not with this one. they have a mechanism that shoots the coaster from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds on a flat track. bloody hell, no wonder those guys shout so early while we were queuing, and i was still taken by surprise. and the ride just got better and better from that point on. really hands down, the best coaster i have been on in my whole life.

at the end of the day we even wanted to take a polaroid picture with the blue coaster as the background, but bad luck has it, that we have got everything in the picture except the coaster, cos of bad lighting. damn. but the sweet picture is still hanging on my room’s notice board.

chapter 3 : the day i hated the most.

Image via Wikipedia

do you guys watch the shaytards? if you don’t, you are really missing out in life. i am still amazed until today, on how such a video without format or drama could be so attractive, it is just pure innocence and fun pouring out of your screen for 15 minutes every day. i have become addicted to it, does it mean that my own life is so sad and pathetic? damn.

in the next issue of the story, we all went to a waterfall somewhere in north-east switzerland, called the ‘rheinfall’. as you might have guessed, it is part of the river rhine that flows all the way from the swiss alps to the netherlands’ coast. it was a beautiful day and weather, we all went there by train, and just as we went out of the train station, we found ourselves on the bank of the river, and we walked alongside it for half an hour, just enjoying the beautiful view of the nature, and of course the girls could not stop taking pictures.

then we arrived on the waterfall, on the opposite bank was a hill with a castle on top of it, in which a wedding was taking place as we were walking around it. it was still very crowded by tourists though. so the best thing was, there were some boats that you can take for a fee, that takes you around the waterfall. we bought ourselves a package ticket, that alllowed us to take some of the most important boat rides. the first boat that we took, brought us onto the island cliff in the middle of the waterfall. it really is a cliff, so you land on the bottom of it, and there is a staircase that you can climb to the top, where you can get a great view and again take more nice pictures. the place is narrow and cramped though, so just be careful if you are there. then the second boat took us on a small round trip tour around the waterfall, at one point the driver drove against the strong tide very near to the waterfall that all the water was spraying and squirting onto us, and it was really fun too.

so, why would such a nice day have such a condescending title right? fuck it man, i bloody lost my f-ing spectacles in this place. so we were waiting for the boat on the dock of the cliff island, and we were looking out to the waterfall, leaning on the railings, because we were convinced that we saw some fishes. and when i thought i saw one, or more precisely, i was trying to bluff the girls that i saw one, i pointed forward with my right index finger which caught the rim of my glasses and sent it flying away into the water. it was the bloody longest half a second in my whole life. i even tried to swim into the water which was like 7 metres away from a waterfall to try to save it, but it was in vain, as the current was too strong and my spectacles was long gone by then. i felt so fucked up. not only because i would not have any good spare glasses to survive me for the rest of the holiday, but also because i really liked that bloody glasses. for once i really felt very comfortable with a glasses, and for once i though my glasses would last for a long time. i guess it is just a curse, that i need to change my glasses every year or so. damn it. i have got a new one by now, right after i got home from the europe roundtrip. i tried hard to find one that really look like my old one and it turned out to be the cheapest there is, of course the feeling is not the same, but the love is now growing between us, we just need to get past the first month of getting-to-know-each-other-phase. so that’s why i hated this day.

moral of the story: do not be a bully or lie too much. fate has its way of coming back at you.

well, it seems that it is dragging rather too long. i will try to post more frequently in the next few days.

cheers. champagne showers.

chapter 2 : zürich.

Image via Wikipedia

damn. my right hand hurts from too much writing for my german studies and playing online games, mostly because of the latter. but since it has been a while since the first post, i guess i am obliged to write more. sigh.

so before we, cee, dee and i, got fancy and roam about other cities, i of course needed to show them around the town i am living in now. i really like zürich, and the feeling is growing since i have got used to the expensive prices around. for those who know me, you would know most of my money would be spent on outside food and cinema, while i was in singapore. but, ever since i moved, i just simply could not do that anymore, a simple meal on the side of the road would easily cost like sfr 7 (10 sgd), and prepare to pay sfr 20-25 (29-36 sgd) if you wish to go in a restaurant, which could just simply be a lousy kitchen with a covering roof. the staggering entrance fee of sfr 18 (25 sgd) to the cinema for just one showing, also deters me from going there as frequently as i used to. but since i got used to eating at home, half of the time even cooking for myself, and going to cinemas only for important movies, i have been in better terms with the city. so, i just want to make the case clear here, everything in zürich, and in switzerland in general, are expensive. and don’t expect to have an excellent time if you are on a tight budget.

but the city itself is really something to behold. the city centre of zürich is witness to the elegant mix of new and old. walking through the city centre you can feel the age of the buildings which were mostly built in the middle ages, the swiss really do a good job at preserving them. but it doesn’t feel and look boring, cos they all have got a modern touch smeared all over them, which made them look intimidatingly beautiful at the end.

my favourite route would start right from the zürich main train station, which is the busiest in switzerland and an important hub in europe as well. and i’ll use this opportunity to say, just how much i like the swiss trains. maybe you’ve heard about it, maybe you haven’t, but the swiss have the best rail network in the whole world. good connection, fast and comfy trains, and punctuality right down to the minute really allow the swiss to go just about to any corner of the map. and i’ve taken a number of trains from the neighbouring european countries now, and i must say, the swiss are still on top. there are only two downsides, taking trains are expensive, it really drains your pocket quite quickly if you do not have a special pass or concession card, so be mindful, even i am still surprised until today how expensive it is, every time i need to buy a ticket at the machine, i will swear and curse about the ridiculously high prices, even though i’ve done it many times before, it’s just in the procession of buying a ticket. luckily i do not need to do it that often. the second could be just my imagination, but the conductors here look like mass murderers, they have the look like, if you do not have a ticket, they can cut your body to pieces with a machete and still bury you alive. man.

back to the topic. i will then walk from the main train station down to the ‘bahnhofstrasse’ which actually means the ‘station street’. it is the busiest shopping street in zürich, with lots of boutiques, department stores, bookshops, and any other shops you could think of, always crowded, but really pricey, even for the swiss standard.

then we will walk through ‘lindenhof’, which used to be a roman castle, on which now stands just the remaining walls of the foundation. but it is still a nice place with a beautiful view of the river ‘limmat’ which cuts the city right in the middle, and of course the other side of the old town. the girls and i were quite lucky that when we were there, a group of swiss tourist were actually doing a tour of the foundation of the castle. so people can actually borrow the key from the city office to open a trapdoor that leads to an underground room in the walls, we just acted dumb and followed the. the room was rather small and low-ceilinged though, but cit contains interesting information about the castle that once stood there and the construction method employed to build it.

moving on, we would cross the river limmat to the other side of the old town, where there are more small shops, selling their specialties from chocolates, cigars, coffee, onitsuka tiger shoes and even soap. you can find a large concentration of restaurants and bars around here too. some of the bars there even dates back to the time my dad was still a teenager, talk about legacy. but the must see here is the ‘grossmunster’ church, which is the biggest church in zürich and with the best view. visitors could climb one of its towers after paying a small sum, through a really narrow and steep stone spiral staircase, up some more wooden stairs, until the top, from which one could see the whole of the heart of zürich.

well, this is of course a touristy itinerary. one that a newcomer must see and do. but there are certainly more to see and do in zürich, once a person lets himself mangle with the locals and join in what they do. some cultural integration can’t really hurt, it might even give some insights. at this point it seems that this post is so incoherent, well at least i have given you something to read and waste your time. i’ll be glad to give you a tour of the city, if anyone pops by. but i am out of inspiration right now, got questions? put them below if you really care. but so long for now.