Summer Time and a good privilege

Today I woke up, looked at my watch and hp. It says 1030. I on my laptop. It says 1130. Confused. 1130?! I want to go church which starts at 11. Am I late? Well, I thought my com gone bonkers again. So I changed the com time. I alighted at central station, and looked at the central station clock. It says 1240pm! my watch and hp says 1140! I was like "WHAT! what's going on." nevertheless, i seems like im utterly late for church for 1.5+ hours. I wanted to go home. But then decided to pay the church a visit and maybe talk to the pastor. I did. And the service still had quite long to go, much to my surprised. I found out later, today had only 23 hours, officially. Summer time, means it becomes 1 hour faster. Then when summer ends, that day would have 25 hours. Kinda stupid really. To adjust your clock twice.

I walked in, everyone's seater. Pastor preaching. Then pastor stopped and said "Hey John! That's John, all the way from Singapore". He's the first pastor I know that do that. Usually, pastors would get kinda irritated by people walking in late, always saying that it disrupts the atmosphere and distracts people. Not this one.
After service, Pastor invited me to his house, with 2 more leaders. Amazing. I am struck by such hospitality. Although I felt that I need to plan for Italy trip, a little time with him would help I guess. Since I have not seen him for so long. We bought us pizzas. I have never seen such huge pizzas. It was really GOOD. ESP the chicken with cashew nuts one. Then we talked. His apartment is AMAZING! It is 8th floor, one of the highest floors in Oslo, and it overlooks the mountains and sea and sky. Omg. And its a huge apartment. I have never seen such a huge bathroom and bathtub in my life.

We had pizzas, and watched "walk the line", a true life story of Johnny Cash. IDK who he was. But I learnt, that if Elvis was number 1, he was number 2. He was a little older than Elvis prolly. But his life story was amazing. His marriage to June Carter, a fellow singer, was the best media news that ever occurred. This mad man, left his wife, and proposed to June, 40 times, before June accepted. I would debate whether this is acceptable though. However, besides his weird r/s life, it was a Great movie to understand about human fraility.

At night, pastor drove us back, and I learnt that near his house is a good & Cheap sushi restaurant.

Pastor has actually lived in Thailand for 8 years, and speaks fluent Thai. He was born in Japan and lived there till 4. He spoke fluent Japanese and then according to his parents, completely forgot all Japanese within 2 months of moving to Norway. He's Norwegian white man. He loves Asia, and all Asian food. And agrees that there's no food like Asian food. And he's been to Singapore Many times. Understand how fast and stress the society is. He said "Put a Norwegian student in Singapore, and he'll turn crazy. Norway is so slow, but people in Norway dont realise how slow their country. Most of them think that its very fast paced." Maria, a fellow Norwegian student, who intro me to the church, felt that Norway was fast. I think she'll die if she goes other ctys.

How to minimise chances of getting robbed in Italy.
1) Do not take up any offer from anyone, no drinks no nothing. EVEN IF THEY TREAT YOU TO A DRINK FOC! DONT BE SO TAN XIAO PIAN YI, cos that drink is confirm DRUGGED!!.
2) Do not even answer them if they talk to you. Pretend to talk on the phone, most of the time, when it seems to be in an area where someone is likely to talk to you (eg. waiting areas).
3) Wear 3 layers of pants. Keep you wallet and camera in the inner most layer. Dont even take them out in public. When need be, go to a toilet. Keep a little cash in your outer pocket just in case u need it instantly. NO. KEEP cash underneath shoe. No cash, absolutely non in any pockets.
4) Avoid superfluously taking pictures. It will make you an obvious tourist. (you can save batt too) Just take 1 picture at every spot.
3) Always carry an Italian newspaper or magazine. It'll make u look less like a tourist.
4) Stay away from people. ALL OF THEM.
5) DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT's happening. Even if you stay in a hostel, and a neighbour comes knocking heavily at ur door telling u an emergency has happened, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR.
6) DO NOT EVEN TALK TO KIDS OR WOMEN. NO MATTER HOW CUTE OR BEAUTIFUL THEY ARE.
BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL OF KIDS WHO ASK FOR CHARITY. DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO BEGGARS. some of them are really rich and are just there to see who's rich, then their friends will rob them.
DO NOT REPLY TO BEAUTIFUL WOMEN WHO ASK FOR HELP/FAVOR, no matter who trivial and minute the help is. The more beautiful they are, the more dangerous ,esp if they flash their tits or legs, or smiles at you.
7) If suddenly a bunch of kids appear and confuse you, DO NOT STAY THERE. RUN!
8) Do not put anything on the compartment of the backpack that's easily accessible.
9) LOCK YOUR BACKPACK. With good locks.
10) ALOT of pickpockets are kids! Kids that are as tall as your waist! Makes it much easier for them!
11) DO NOT FLASH YOUR BELONGINGS. GO TO A TOILET IF YOU NEED SOMETHING
12) AVOID DARK ALLEYS. DO NOT SLEEP IN THE STREETS OR EVEN IN STAIRS AND ROOFS. JUST SPEND THE BLOODY MONEY ON HOSTELS DAMN IT. ITS WAY BETTER THAN BEING ROBBED.

My gosh. Me being such a friendly and open person, will need God to make me do all these! And to keep the thieves away from me.

19 days in the arctic (Part 4 =D)

I reached Tromso Airport, at about 845pm. To find that the Airport is very "re nao" with lotsa people, surprised me. I was looking for a place to sit, bcos I was planning to spend the night sleeping over at the airport. It was late. The bus I wanted to take was not functioning. So I plan to wake up when there's light and plan how to get to the Island.

I sat beside a Malay-looking girl. She looked Malay, familiar to me, makes me feel closer and comfortable with her. And she actually looks lost, but she isnt. So I said "Are you Norwegian?". And the conversation continues. I learnt that her name is Fortune. She's lived in Norway for 10 years (or was it since she was 10?). From her, I learnt not to take the expensive city bus, but a local bus to city. And that she has never heard of the Island I was heading to. She showed me to the local bus stop. And then she offered me a place to sleep for the night. Really amazed by her kindness. At the busstop, we talked to another Norwegian girl. She said she knew about Singapore from Pirates of the Carribean. Interesting.

Then, I received a phone call. It was Tomas, the guy who offered me free accomodation. He said hes around town and can pick me up from the airport. So it was great, that I dont have to look for the Island myself. So I said goodbye to Fortune, wish her luck with her medicine course, and met Tomas. Tomas took me to his Island. And for the 1st time, I had a real eye-opener and how things work there.

He had gone to the city, to collect drinking water (the while tub), empty the shit box (on his hand) and buy food.

I saw a crazy full food on the plane. It was so bright and big, I could not believe it. I can actually see the craters. At the Island, I took this picture. Although my hand shook (my camera is old camera with no anti-shake), this picture still shows how bright the full moon is. This will be where I stayed for the next 14 days. A cabin by the sea and mountains. Amazing.

Inside, I saw for the first time, how he make a fire. The pieces of wood were big pieces which he picked up from supermarkets/petrol stations (i think), and then he chop them into smaller pieces with a saw. Then he cuts them with a dagger into smaller thin pieces to burn.

And cook using the fire.

And his dog is really pampered and friendly. Just first day, he wanted me to play with him in the floor. This face up and hand gesture means he wants me to get down to play with him (I was told).

First dinner in the SUPER COSY cabin. I was completely overwhelmed by the warmth of the cabin, partly bcos I have not have a proper shelter and sleep for 5 days already. And the Nomad cooks good food. He has this fish, which is called a Stone-bitter. Which is an arctic fish, which likes to bite stones. I have a friend who likes to collect stones. I hope she doesnt like to bite them.
That night, I had the best sleep, since a long time. And I rested my leg and body, after walking more than 5 km the previous day. The Nomad gave me a perfect bed. Super comfortable, with quilts and Big Pillows. Im really overwhelmed by the gesture.


Next morning, the Cabin.

The snow is unbelieveably soft here. Which makes walking extremely tough as well. But the warm gulf stream ensures, its quite comfy. Not too long though.

I love it when the dog runs towards me from 50 metres :).

Afternoon. The sun is over the mountains.


And a fighter plane flew by.

End of Day 6, 11 March 2009.

19 days in the arctic (Part 3)

At Bodo, the girls walked ahead of me. I could actually catch up with them, but bcos of the traffic, I just cut away from them. It was 9am. Their flight is 2pm. Its a 30mins walk to the airport. They walked way ahead, then stopped, waited for me, and said "We'll go ahead to the airport. So cya". Well, in essence, they pangseh-ed me again. They have 4 hours to hang around in Bodo, but they decided to take off to the airport. So I was left alone. My flight is 7pm. I went to the tourist info center and asked them what I can do in Bodo for 8 hours. They said this museum and that. I learnt that museums are tourists trap. Finally, one made me happy. "You can go to this place, and see the eagles on the other side of the Island. Bodo Islands has the world's biggest eagles herring". So I walked and asked for directions, and found it.


Unfortunately, spending like 1 hour there, there was no eagle, only seagull and ducks. And I was starting to freeze. This is still inside the arctic afterall. So I decide to go to the Airport, and look for an internet, to check for directions to the cabin. Since I lost my notebook in Lofoten.

I should stop taking pictures like this.


The Airport has no internet. Only those click ones, with only Yahoo news and air ticket booking functions. Later, I went back, with my backpack, bcos the lockers arent cheap.
And although, there was no eagles again, the sunset was Beautiful.







End of Bodo (for good! there's nothing to do here really! Im glad. And Im looking forward to seeing the Northern lights, further North. 300-400km into the arctic.)

Travelling alone, means you need to spend tons of time planning your travel. So much so that I dont have time to sleep nor study. And I might just fail my exams.

Fortunately, I dropped the subjects that requires compulsory attendace. Which means Im hardly even seen in school, if at all. And I dropped the econs course. Which will certainly make the NUS econs coordinator proud. She insisted that I would not make it past that course, cos I only have ec1101e. She was right. This course is a complete madness. I have never seen so much calculations and graphs and models in my life.

Lets not be complacent. I will study during my travel.

And, unlike the 4 other NUS girls, who doesnt gets too bothered about budget, although they voice their concern (but dont seem to do a thing about it - actions still speak louder than words). I, prefer to travel alone, unless there is someone else who is on as tight a budget as me. Rather, someone else who is as crazy in saving money, and trying to get the most by paying the least and feeling damn happy about it.

Thus far, I am rather satisfied with the way I travelled. As compared to the Singaporeans in Oslo and Tronheim (another Norwegian state), I spent the least, and travelled the most.
14 days in Tromso and Hakoya, I spent maybe 10SGD on food. The girls spent 3 days in Tromso and spent, several hundred dollars on accomodation, and on what alfred calls - tourists traps. You learn to identify a tourist trap. It looks out of place. It looks elaborated, like they install some big screens, just to make something out of nothing. It looks as if, the state put it there just for tourists. Like the Esplanade of Singapore. Except that for the Esplanade, you do not have to pay to get in - way better. A tourist trap for example - the arctic cathedral. State of the art design but, which is not really a religious place, but a tourist place. The arctic people attends another cathedral.

NUS estimated that I will spend 1700SGD on living expenses alone, excluding travel.
God is so good. I defied the odds, by spending 700 SGD on living expenses alone. And another 300-400 SGD on travel every month. And I will strive to maintain or better that.
I have heard fellow NUS students exchange in Europe. Some spent 25,000 SGD altogether, plus travel expenses. I've heard horror stories about that. As such, I was so close to cancelling my exchange programme. But now, Im glad. A jc friend met me b4 I left. He said another jc friend of ours, went to Manchester for exchange, and spent 10,000 SGD, travelling expenses included. That gave me hope. I now believe that this could be done. Its been 4 months already. Plus travel expenses, I spent not more than 4000SGD. If I could travel europe after exams, in 3000 SGD, for 2 months, that would be completely awesome. And of cos, I would cancel my room, and not need to pay rent, which is actually, the core of my expenses. It would be a dream, if eventually, my expenses are less than 10,000 SGD (8,000 would be my aim, although I admit I need to be more realistic). But hoping to buy a soccer ticket to Manchester United Vs Arsenal would blow that dream a little. However, watching a Manchester United Vs Arsenal match is a dream of a completely different world - since 9 years old.






I will fly to Milan on 1st April. Arrive at 11pm. Sleep overnight at the Milan Airport. Since I heard that Italians are good pick pockets, I do not trust them. I will perhaps, sleep in the toilet of Milan, if its not too smelly (maybe its a good Idea to invest in an Air freshener for Italy trip)


From Milan (1-2 days) to Verona (1 day) to Venice (2days) to La

At Venice, I will stay at a campsite called "Camping Jolly", 45min by bus from Venice. I read on my friend's blog that the tent is really value for money. For 10 Euros, there's shower and bed and private lockable tent. At Venice, as he had done, I will not buy the tourist pass, but will navigate through the maze of bridges and plazas and alleys to ultimately reach the grandest piazza.

Only pity is not being able to attend the Palio di Siena (the Italian horse races), which is held only twice a year. The ealiest on 2nd July. If I find super cheap air tickets on ryanair or easyjet, like 20SGD. I will perhaps fly there. Estimated 2nd July I should not be in Italy, but rather, in Helsinki, capital of Finland to meet my NUS Finnish project mate already.

At Clinque Terre, I will attempt to hike along the Mediterranea Sea, past the 5 Villages, 9km. Read and seen pictures on my friend's blog, that its an amazing hike. And even though, they try to make it a tourist spot, by placing a guard there (and pay 5 euros which is nothing), my friend says that he managed to sneak in at 7pm, and at 6am, after and before the guard is on duty. And I will swim at Vernazza (who's gonna look after my backpack then! Gosh, that's why u need a buddy.)

Matteo, the Italian, warned me about sleeping overnight in the streets in Italy. Not safe he says. Big and bad guys who dont speak much English. Sigh.

Planning travels is the hardest thing ever. Planning travel alone is the hardest thing.

Sometimes, you could a little help, with someone who's travelled before.
Like looking at an friend's travel blog who inspired me.
http://www.photoblog.com/alfredlauyongfu/2008/06/30/cinque-terre.html

Cinque Terre, the lesser known area of Italy. Is, according to my friend's blog, thoroughly worth visiting. And I could even sleep on the beach (at not get rob hopefully. Italy isnt safe like Northern Europe).

Now I realised, where to go in Italy, and where not. Even the less reknowned BEAUTIFUL places that arent famous.
I love it when I find these places.

Like the arctic Island of Hakoya. Nobody believes that it is prettier than Lofoten. Com'on. I lived in the Fjords for 2 weeks, looking at thr arctic sea. What could be more beautiful than that - just bcos it wasnt on the tourist list. (:

Everyone asks you how great it is.
Everyone wows at your travel.

Nobody asks you how tired you are.
Nobody asks you how lonely you are.
Nobody asks you how hard it is.

Some people writes to you. Sometimes you reply with a sad tone, and said that you are really really really not feeling well emotionally. And mentally, you could turn mad. They reply that with a sacarstic remark like "what kind of emotional/mental suffering could you possibly go through" You wonder why they even reply.

Life here is tough. I would say, tougher than Singapore. You wake up. You have lots of admin stuff to do. You have lots of bills to pay. You worry about exchange rate (esp now. I lost almost a thousand sing from the plunging exchange rate already). You realise your rice cooker is not washed, hence you cant cook rice. You wonder what's there to eat next. You eat the same plain thing everyday. Some days, you get so sick, you simply dont eat the whole day. You tear your hairs out at travel plans. You worry about your family back home. You dont even have time and mood to study, even though you need to hand in papers and do exams. Paper format are very weird to you. You have yet to fully learn how to use their "ivle". Most days, you have no one to talk to, except the 4 walls in your room. You walk around in circles. You walk to this bank, that bank, this office, that office, and nothing gets done. Why? Because you are not a citizen. You are binded by tons of red tape as a foreigner.

You are sick of the fact that every letter you receive is in a foreign langauge. Every letter you receive, you go the the office and ask them to interpret for you. Disgusting. Even if they use English, its in this weird Norwegian grammar English (like Singlish per se)

Everyone marvel at your travel. They say how lucky you are.
They look at your pictures and wow.
They do not know how much pain was put into it.
You sleep alone at airports in winter.
You're afraid of being robbed.
You hate the fact that every country is trying to earn money from tourism.
You are aware that every tourism gimmick is overpriced.
You look for free accomodations, free this, free that. You get stressed out. You could not make yourself pay a hundred sing dollars a night in hotels. The guilt would torment you so much. If not the guilt, then the feeling of plain stupidity that someone is laughing as he collects your money.
You learn to talk to the locals, for as long as it takes, to learn the ways of getting through the country, without being cheated as a tourist.
You learn that tourist information places has been taught to cheat tourists of their money.
You learn that every airport has a city-bus, that takes tourists to the city. And you pay about 30SGD for it. And of cos, you could get a local bus, which you pay 5 to 10 times lesser, to get to the city. So you learn to read the different bus brochures, in all sorts of weird formats and acronyms that you never seen before.

You endure a snow blizzard that lasted for 5 days. You saw less than 1 hour of sunlight the 5 days combine. By the 3rd day, you were depressed, lost, and feel like you could turn insane.
The lovely arctic snow landscape they see on the pictures.
They do not know the dangers of it.
It took me 1 hour to walk to the eagle's nest, 200-300 metres away.
Every step I take, my leg sinks in beyond knee level.
Both leg.
When u try to pluck one leg out, the other sinks in deeper.
Sometimes your leg gets stuck.
You take minutes to pull it out.
And then snow gets into your feet. Its only minutes later that you could no longer feel your feet.
In the mountain, you encounter a snow blizzard. You could not see more than 20 metres. The wind blows too hard, the snow attacks your face like a thousand needles. The coldness of the snow particles hitting your face, freezes your face, you could not feel your face.
Soon, you lose sensation of your body. You start to shake your limbs vigorously, proving to your mind that you are still alive.
You could not go anywhere. You are trapped. You wonder if the snow blizzard would go away. You even wonder if you would live.
Times like this, you feel like crying.
Your thoughts start to go crazy.
You realise at times like these, all the bad and traumatic memories that you once repressed and forgotten, surfaced. You could not even believe the images start to flash in your mind once more.
Sometimes they surface one by one. Sometimes they surface all at once. When they surface all at once, its crazy. Your thoughts become so scattered, its like your brain split itself into a hundred pieces. Your vision might even start to blur. You start to look around vehemently, looking for a friend, a closed one, a support, a hand, a direction. But all you see is fog and coldness. Your mind refuse to accept that you're all alone. The loneliness cripples you so much, you did not even realise how much it affected you. You start to talk to an imaginary friend, believeing that him or her is really really there. You did not even realise that you are talking to this imaginary friend. Your mind just lost it, its on autopilot. Then God comes and smack you wide awake. You see the image of your imaginary friend fades. You realise for that few moments, you were talking to this image, and your mind lost it. Then you realise that admist this madness and loneliness, there's still God around. He takes away your bad memories. You compose yourself, pray to Him, believe that He would guide you, believe that He is there beside you (instead of your imaginary sg friend), and you make it through.

Through the times your lips crack so badly, you could not smile.
Each time you tried to smile, it tears your lips apart painfully.

Some days you were sure you would freeze to death. You could not afford to take a rest, even if your body is begging to stop. How do you rest, when its freezing. The longer you maintain surface contact with the snow and open air, the more the literal pain from the cold.

Every night, you dream of Singapore and family and friends. The dream is so real, every morning you wake up and wonder where you are. After 30 seconds or so, you realise you are in a cabin, in the arctic.

You worry if you have the finances to get through.

You have no source of emotional support. Or even maybe, financial support. You do not want to tell your family. Because they would be so worried.

So you learn to keep things private. Keep your blog private. Because you rather, people not talk to you, then assume that he/she knows everything about you/your sep.
You rather he/she shut-up, then say things like "how could you possibly feel sad/stress in sep?" or "you're having such an easy life". Easy. No offence to him/her who said it to me. But I would not be able to see him/her do it. Well, perhaps him/her would adapt. Cos I never foresaw myself able to do it either. If months ago in Sg, you were to tell me this is what I would experience, I would say you are nuts, and then I would cancel my sep, and hide in a nutshell. Nevertheless, I believe, my life in Sg, is way easier. All I need to do, is study, worry about grades, and try to manage the occassional social pressure.

Everyone wants to know how far you run.
Nobody asks you how tired you are of running.
Everyone wants to know how far you intend to run somemore.
Nobody asks you how stress and afraid you are of the distance ahead.

And so, through it all, you learn to lean on God, and loves the fact that He knows and understands your every thought. He sees beyond, right into your soul. And He knows that all is not so well, all is not so great, all is not what other people sees.
Even though He perhaps, cheated a little, by being omni-present, and all-knowing. You could not help, but feel closer to this special Person, who has saved you from becoming mad.













Or maybe, you might think, I already am mad, talking about God.

Doesnt really matter.

19 days in the arctic (Part 5 =DD)

Tromso library

City of Tromso. In the center is the arctic cathedral. I was told by several pple who went in, that it was a tourist trap. Nothing worthy inside.

Some of my favourite shots. At 12am. I did not know the shots will turn out like this. The move fast, sometimes so fast! So I just snap, and hold my camera there, cos my old camera takes like 2 mins to process night shots, and your hand cant shake in the meantime. :(. And standing on a ladder to the roof isnt the best position to be in. Nevertheless, I switch my focus to the lights and glory at the creation of God.



This one started with a yellow vertical beam. Appeared to be 30 metres in front of me. It was slow at first, then it opened up right to left, and became green and yellow and moved across me fast! I was lucky to get this shot!

That night, I went back to bed. And then I realised, just a few days ago, I was the unluckiest guy ever, always at the right place, wrong time, or wrong place, right time. And thoughts of me not fated to see it crept in my mind. But then I felt that God would let me see it. Cos He will have the final say. All the time. And I was moved. He did let me see it. Not just the small ones that others saw on previous days. But He let me see an explosion display that lasted for 30mins plus. It was truly those that you see on postcards. Amazing.

19 days in the arctic (Part 2)

The girls left for Leknes at 11am. I decided to paddle there, after inquire the way and distance from a supermarket. Halfway, I regretted the decision. As usual, Norway's pedestrian track ends suddenly and I am left to weave my way through the crazy highway, with no lines. Even in the well-mearsure and clearly defined tracks of Singapore, cyclists die often. I am seriously lucky to escape death a few times. Each time a car comes, I had to stop and throw my bicycle and my body onto the side. Because the roads are so narrow. Once, a tanker came by and I could feel its painful speed past by face. Halfway, I decided to abandone the bicycle, which was a wise decision. I fully understand now why my father refuse to let me ride on the roads. In Norway, the winding roads make it even more dangerous. You have no idea when a car will turn in. Along the way, I took some pictures.




I stopped at this area and rested. Every car the passes, the driver would slow down and stare at me. Then I wondered if they were thinking that I need a ride, since my bicycle was turned upside down. So I decided to show the universal hitch-hike sign, but then when I showed that, no car stopped nor slowed. They all sped past me. Upset, I ride carefully and slowly to the next busstop. I learnt to change from one side of the lane to the other each time I see a turn ahead, to avoid the blind spots. But then each time changing lane was a danger itself. Finally I reached a busstop. And I read the signs. To my horror, I think I covered only 7km and there's 7 more to go. I give up. My right knee was too painful. I sat at the cold busstop cursing. And eating biscuits, bcos I was too tired.

Finally, the bus came, which almost missed me, bcos I was on the wrong side of the road. The other side has no bus shelter, only a stand, and I would have frozen to death had I waited for the bus there. So the bus came. And I ended up at Lenkes.

At Lenkes, I read the bus schedule. It seems like the girls already reached A (Its A with a circle on top - the last letter of norwegian alphabet, which my laptop does not have. Its pronounced as "awe"). The next bus to A comes in almost 2 hours time. I read the distance to A. Its 63km! And the bus ride takes 2 hours. Man, am I glad I abandoned the bicycle. I could not possibly wait outside for 2 hours. I would freeze. So I went into a bakery, bought a huge bun, and waited inside. And I was overlooked the fact that I could have charged my camera's battery there. Thank God, my camera was still able to take some shots of the bus ride. It is, supposed to be, one of the most amazing bus rides in the world.
This is why.







I dont know if you can see this, but the clouds at the bottom formed faint rainbow colours. I saw it better with naked eyes. Zoom in and observe the corner of the clouds. You could see some red/orange. It did form rainbow colour.

After 63km, I was the only person left on the bus.
At A, the place was not as spectacular as I thought, but I like it. It feels cosy, inhabited with people, and it is at the corner of the Lofoten Island. Here, people engage intensively in cod fishing.



As I was walking about, looking at views, my camera died. Thankfully, that was not much pictures left to take. There was only 1 view worthy ok taking, but it was pretty much the same. I called the girls to inquire about which hostel they were staying, they did not know. So I walked, and then I met a guy with his dog.
He "are you looking for a hostel?". Yes
He "you can walk up this one in front of you. Take room 9. And you can come tmr morning to the reception to pay me"
Me "How much?"
He "150kr"
Me "well, im actually waiting for my friends. Im not sure where they are staying"
He "there's only 1 hostel here in winter."
Me (thinking he's trying to bluff me) "ok. I think i'll wait for them. most probably they are staying here. Cya"
So the girls came. Apparently, they are not so street-wise after all. They told me it was a yellow hostel, but it was a white one. However, it turned out to be good, bcos I had not agreed to take that room. So I went into the hostel. But there was no room 9. It ends at 8. Which is am Amazing room to say the least. It was the best room in the whole hostel. The rest was double deck beds. This one has 2 single bed side by side. I wonder if I had to pay for 2 person, since it only has 2 person room. But since that guy said 150, it was really really relaly cheap for a room like this. PLus, it has heating system, and a kitchen inside the room.
The girls ask me how much I had to pay. I said that guy told me 150. They kept quiet for a while, then spoke in german. Later I inquired and they said they had to pay more, for a sucky room which they booked. (Maybe it was bcos they booked it. But hey, its winter. Every hostel is empty! Dont have to book!). So I was utterly glad. That night, I walked about, trying to see if there's any warm hiding place in the streets I could sleep w/o paying. There was not. And since Im so tired and bruised, I decided that 150 was nothing. Besides, I have the luxury of choosing any room I want, and the whole entire hostel to myself.
That night, the girls came to tell me that the ferry to Bodo leaves at 7am. And its 5km away. They, on their fast leg, took 1.5 hours. So they told me I better leave earlier than 5am by myself, cos I was very slow. I inquired about the direction to the ferry. They were so extremely impatient and pissed that I do not know how to get there. Well, they walked there in the afternoon and recceed it. How was I to know? So I got pissed with them. And they got pissed with me. They asked me how I was going to pay for my room. IDK. The man never told me. He dont even know Im sleeping in his hostel. Well, he did tell me to go to reception tmr morning and pay him there. But since now, the girls want me to leave before 5am, the man would not be awake by then. Its winter. No one wakes up so early. So I asked the girls back and they said the man told them to leave the money on the table.
Of cos, I dont plan to pay. Its stupid to leave the money in the hostel table. Anyone can just come in and take. And I figured that since the man did not make an effort to collect money from me, nor did he find out if I ever was going to stay there, I would not pay. You run a business, make sure you run it well. If you are so lazy, that you would not even want to walk from your house to the hostel to check, I dont think you deserve that 35SGD from me.
Nevertheless, I had a good warm meal for the first time since 4 days. And I showered, warm water, since 4 days. And I charged my camera. And I slept, good warm heated room since 4 days. It was such an awesome sleep. And as I did the past few days, I dreamt about Singapore and friends in Singapore. Its been like that for 4 days already. Even on the 3rd day, when I sneaked into the hostel bed to sleep for 2 hours, I dreamt about sg friends. And they make me sooo happy.

Alarm rang at 340am. I planned to leave by 4am, afraid that my leg was too battered, so I might be extremely slow. But eventually, I left at 430am, packing all the clothes, socks, and underwear that I had rinsed and left to dry in the toilet. Before I leave, I realised that the bed beside mine had 2 pillows. Every bed in the hostel has 1. And since I do not have a pillow back in Oslo, I kopped it. Feeling not so bad, bcos it was an extra pillow after all.

The hostel.

That morning, I journey 5km to the harbour alone, at 430am. I took a break at 530am, by the road, and ate breakfast. The morning view was great. Eventually, I reached the ferry at 6am. 1 hour before time. I didnt know, my leg healed so much overnight.

While waiting for the ferry to start, a crew talked to me. He did not know where Singapore was.
He "Singapore? In Japan? Hong Kong? China? I've lived in Thailand for 3 weeks"
Honestly, I felt insulted that he knows thailand but not Singapore. Its not too far away my god.
Seems to be that, people know Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, but not Singapore. How insulting.

I start to be addicted at not paying for my hostels. At the ferry, I observed how things are done, and realised that I could just walk in without paying. Then I realised that the same can be done on the Hutikuten. By then, I had already paid for all the ferries.
Somehow, despite feeling kinda bad and guilty, a part of me reminds me that they are the ones out to cheat stupid tourists of money in the first place. Even if they did not actually cheat, but overpricing it is obvious. Sometimes, its a mixed feeling that could torment me. And I would just revert to God.



End of Lofoten. End of Day 4. Back to Bodo, where I will take a flight to Tromso.

19 days in the arctic (Part 1)

I spent 19 days altogether in the arctic. Beginning from 5th March. I woke up at like 530am. Hurried to pack my food into a paper bag, just for the paper bag to crack after taking 2 steps and all the rice split onto the floor. And since I was running late, I decided not to clean it up. The rice continued to spill all the way to the lift. Downstairs, Anne and Anna was waiting for me. To the airport. We took the metro instead of bus, bcos I did not buy a transport ticket.

The bus ride to Oslo Rygge Airport was really expensive. We paid 120kr each. (almost 30 SGD)
Which led me to double confirm, that Oslo Rygge Airport really really sucks. Just get a ticket from Oslo Gardemeon, even if it is more expensive (cos it kinda evens out eventually). It was a darn long bus ride. I wonder why they built an airport halfway between Oslo and Sweden, and call it "Oslo" Airport.

Nevertheless, we reached the airport, and I was to find out the hard way later, it is probably the only Norwegian Airport with internet connection and a typing keyboard.



Amazing view from the plane like these, make you feel, the Air flight is really enjoyable. And the price of the Air ticket, more justifiable.




Welcome to Bodo. We reached Bodo Airport. Anne said its like the smallest Airport she ever seen. It never really felt to me like I was already in the Arctic. everything felt normal. Until we started walking into the carpark area, and you realise the roads are completely frozen. Even more frozen than those in Oslo. We almost fell a few times.

Frozen road (I wonder how the cars get in really. Did their wheels have spikes?)

Avoid walking on the ice road. Walk instead on the more friction area. Unless you have a roller luggage that goes really well on ice.

At this point, Anne exclaimed "We're into the polar circle! Are we crazy! I would never imagine coming this far up North" Later on the ferry across the Arctic sea, I would tell her that Im from way South, at the equator. I would never even more think of coming this North.

The ice/snow in the arctic is really kinda crazy and frustrating. You have roads that are complete in layers of ice. And you have some areas, where the snow and ice has become so soft, your feet and leg would sink into it. Making it almost impossible to walk. Imagine putting your feet and a part of your leg into ice. That's how it felt. And then you have to try to pull it out, without any support. Cos both your legs are as much sunken.

We were early for the ferry. So they decided to look for a cafe. This one is really cosy :). Im not a coffee fan. Checked out the sushi prices and realise that are insanely overprice for a small piece.


At the ferry.



On the ferry. This is Bodo, a fishing town.

With pretty and small rock islands around.

Inside the ferry, called Hutituken.

On the ferry, Enjoying the view of the Arctic Sea. Really really enjoying it.








Forward!

Amazing arctic sea. Nice to look at but you dont wanna touch it.


We participated in the Arctic Baptism ceremony. Anne first noticed it and said "John you should do it" And of cos, it thrilled me to do it. Then, they refused to do it. I thought: how could anyone not do it. besides, she asked me to do it. I tried to persuade her but she refused. Then, as fate would have it, the perfect opportunity came. I stood at the ceremony area, after completing mine. Until there were no one left. The baptism monster looked at me. I looked at Anne and said out loud "Do it" The baptism monster heard it, looked at her, and the both of us keep pressuring her to do it. The lure of the monster was too strong. She gave in. Anna later joined. The baptism was simple. Just putting of ice cubes into your layers of shirt.






After the whole thing, we each received certificates to being baptised in the Arctic. Anne was so proud and so extremely glad that she did it. She could not stop taking pictures of the cert w herself.

We walk around the ferry in circles, looking for new sights and warmer corners.


She finally introduced the pig she carry all along. The pig's name is punchin. Which means small dot in german (if im not wrong). Her bf gave it to her b4 she came to Norway. And ever since, she has been taking pictures with it all the time. I said "ur bf must be proud of u" She replied "he better be."



When it gets too cold outside, we seek refuge inside the cosy quiet area, while still being able to enjoy the awesome view.

- End of the first sail across on the arctic sea -

We arrive at Lofoten late. And could not find the hostel. There appears to be only 1 hostel. Along the way, they stopped at a lamppost to look at the map. Only to realise that the light has been turned upside down and facing the sky instead. Damn coincidental. I wonder why anyone would do that, even in Sg. Here, perhaps to spoil tourist view of the Northern Lights. But 1 lamppost would not make much difference anyway.

Finally, we reached the hostel. They did. Cos they were the ones who booked it. I on the other hand, wanted to experience sleeping outdoors, and save some money. The gulf stream made Lofoten seemingly warmer than Oslo. So I thought I would manage.

Unpacked, and put on 9 layers of clothes. These are the food that I had previously prepared. As it turned out, I forgot that food turned bad really fast, especially cooked food. The box of brocolli and sausage turned bad, bcos the cooked brocolli stinks. Since there were no dustbin nearby, I dumped it into the Lofoten harbour.

I was really just waiting for Anne and Anna to come out to pick me up. But I waited for hours and they were still not out. I peeked into the window several times and they were busy chatting. Later I would find out, they met 2 german guys and decided to dump me.
Once, they came out to look for me, but I just took a slight turn and they missed me. So, they went for a walk without me. Then suddenly, I received a call from Anne "John you can see the northern lights from behind". Somehow, I heard it as "John, u can find us from behind" So I searched the place and found them not. I decided to enter the hostel, despite not paying and asked for the girls. The 2 german guys greeted me and made tea for me. They had heard about my crazy stories from the girls and my plan to sleep outside. They were sure that I would freeze to death. Later I would find out, they were right indeed. They just could not believe me. I called Anne and realised that she meant the Northern lights. I rushed out and saw nothing. I started to wonder if fate just refuse to let me see.

At night, I took a walk. Lofoten is simply a ghost town. I start to wonder why I was here with Anne and Anna. Anne is suppose to be really street-smart. Would she come to a place just to see this? Well. I scare the shit out of a few passerbys, who gave me strange stares and one of them, out of fear, said hi to me. I really do look like a terrorist/crook/robber in this.

At night, I decided to take a sleep at the bench outside the hostel. It shielded me slightly from the wind. It is almost impossible to avoid the wind in Lofoten, on any benches. After only 1 hour into my sleep, I woke up and broke in coldness. The cold had gotten into my bones, and I felt like Im running a temperature of 40 degrees. My body knew it could not take it anymore. I had to find a shelter, or die. So I sneaked into the hostel, and slept on the floor, outside the toilet.

I woke up again at 4am, and almost froze to death, bcos the floor was too cold. So I took my chance again, and sneaked into the main dinning area, with a bed. I slept on the bed, in fear that I would get caught. Then again, I was so cold, I think my life is more important than other things like get caught and paying for it.

So, everytime I hear footsteps, I would try to sit up, sit on the bench or something, and pretend that I was not sleeping, but merely waiting for friends here. A guy saw me sitting on the bench and falling asleep with my head on the table and ask "Are you ok?". I realised, that the hostel master would not come. So I slept. I was really really so tired. And the cold makes your body shut down really.


The next day, the girls set off, following the 2 german boys. And as you can see, they dumped me behind, cos my still injured leg was too slow. The 'wonders' of female hormones.
This day, they walked like 20 over kilometres. For the first 10-15km, I followed them. Just because I dont say anything, and my beloved leg was able to take it, does not mean that it still can. After that, it collapse. So this was a ridiculous day for me. First, they took a bus to Leknes, just to discover they were too Early for the next bus. So they walked kilometres, just to find a cafe. This habit of Europeans looking for cafe really really really sickens me already. Then, they were Late for the bus to the ferry station back to the hostel. Fucking amazing nuts. I had to walk kilometres to the ferry station with them. Saving grace is that Anna carried my bag for me. But then, carry carry lah. She gave up halfway and passed my bag to Anne. Anne gave up and said something not so nice to me. So. I was really really pissed. Then the 2 girls left me. And the german guy said that I should rest the next day and not join the girls. His objective was obvious. It was not so much as he cared about me, but that he cared that I slowed down the girls. In short, he cared about them. The 4 germans, on that day, sickened me so thoroughly, that at the ferry, I was so damn glad that they left me (again). Eventually, they were 30mins early for the early. I wonder why they had to walk so fast, and make me walk so fast as well. I was so SO SO glad to rest and fell asleep on the ferry.

They dumped me. This picture was taken using zoom. They are far far ahead.

The only saving grace, walking kilometres, was this. There is a mirror image of the sun and the clouds helped it looked like there were 2 suns.
Nevertheless, they were on the way to the museum. I thought to myself: Did not I read on the internet that the museum is closed in winter? Besides, museums are a complete waste of money and simply the worst tourist trap. They just put a few wax figures that and command so much money. I wanted to say it. But then, I rmbed what Anne said that day: "We are following them, bcos they have been here for sometime, so they know this place better". Right. So I decided to keep queit, knowing that Im just one person, a half-broken leg asian guy, among 4 fit germans, in Europe.

(Picture like this below, makes me feel kinda not so 'nue-dai'. It looks like a double sun. The arctic sun, always has this mirror image of itself. The clouds also helped to make this more convincing. Later, I will show a sun set, that also has a mirror image, without clouds)


Fucking crazy long walk to the ferry. I felt like killing them. At that point, I thought: Asians would not leave their friends behind. Cos we are collectivistic culture. Not as individualistic as them. At that point, I wished I had Asians travel mates with me.

My only saving grace walking to the ferry, is the sight below. By then, I figured that they would never wait for me (200-300 metres ahead of me). So there is no point in me trying to catch them. I was prepared to completely abandon them or let them abandon me. Since I figured that people who dont wait for you arent worth your attention either. So I stopped by, and carefully adjusted my camera settings to take this shot.


At the ferry finally, I was glad that they left me to go to the upper deck. I was too tired to move. I fell asleep for 30 mins and woke up to find the ferry still not moving. That was when I felt that the germans would rather walk faster, to reach this ferry early, than to slow down for my sake. Despite Anne coming to sweet talk me again, using words like an expressive white cultured person would, I could not be moved. In Asia, you learn that actions speak louder than words.

My leg was hurting so bloody bad, it felt like I completely busted it. After resting for 1 hour, and asking the reception some questions to plan my other trip, I decided to go out and look at the arctic sea by night. It was so dark, I could only see faint mountain outlines.


I alighted the ferry first. A german boy came down to shake my hand, however unconvinced I am by the gesture. I alighted first, and then the 2 german girls came down, and uttered their usual words of concern that they were worried about me. Again, I am already thorougly unconvinced.

That night, while walking back, they actually slowed down for me, which leads me to confirm that they abandoned me bcos of the german boys. We chatted while we walked. And they talked about how bad they feel that the first night, I slept on the hostel bed at 4am and did not pay. So they will try their best to keep quiet about it. I was Very surprised. So I asked them if they also felt bad that I dont pay for my transport ticket. Anna remarked that she felt angry. She said that in Germany, she would feel ashamed of these people. Cos the government trusted them and helped them so much, they should help the society and government back by being a responsible citizen. I remarked that I am not a citizen of Norway, neither are they. But she said that Norwegians are really nice helpful people, so they would feel bad. I thought how stupid. Norwegians arent nice in my opinion. They insist that Social Democracy works. Me, being a capitalistic boy, could never imagine how Social Democracy could work. I asked if they would pay for the hostel if they had the chance to sleep for free, like even openly walk in and sleep. They insisted they would still pay. Anna supported it by saying that the hostel master is friendly. I really really felt they are really so stupid. The hostel master isnt friendly at all. He talks rubbish and is just trying to pass his day. Just because someone says a few words to you, you would open your wallet happily for them.

So, despite having thoughts of sneaking in a 2nd night and not paying for the hostel, I resisted voicing my thoughts to them, cos they will hate me and bao-to me.

Nevertheless, the hostel master caught me resting inside that night, and I had to pay for that one night. It was alright though, bcos I needed Tons of rest, after walking about 20-30 km on a half broken leg and backpack. That night, the 2 girls went into their room, while I slept in the main area, which is in the attic. There was only 1 tiny portable heater which they took into their room. I realise that the main area was utterly cold. And to my horror, this hostel has no other heating system. That night, I took the chance to explore this hostel. It was huge. It has alot of doors. Doors that open to the attic. And even a backdoor to the outside. And other rooms that are abandoned. I realised that the next night, I could possibly sneak in through the backdoor, without the girls knowing and sleep in the many toilets near the laundry and backdoor area. No other people comes here, except for the hostel master. My only concern, was him checking at night. So that night, I threw big pieces of litter in the toilets that I planned to sleep in. My logic is that if I wake up the next morning and the litter is still there, it means that the hostel master does not check at night. I used big pieces of food, to make sure he does not miss them.

I woke up at 6am, completely freezing. So I put on my 9 layers of clothes. I thought: why did I pay 120 kr to sleep in 9 layers of clothes. Ridiculous. 120kr is really cheap for a hostel, but a hostel with no heating system is not worth a single penny. In winter, you need a heating system more than a bed. It ensures your survival. Your body would refuse to sleep no matter how comfy the bed is. Bcos you might just never wake up again.

At 6am, I went to collect my rubbish. And they are still there. Happy, I went back to bed in 9 layers of clothes. I slept till 3pm. The girls went hiking. Since I completely busted my leg, I decided to rest. Hiking in Lofoten sounds stupid to me anyway. And I was glad it was a sunday. No buses were functioning. So we had to stuck here anyway.

At 3pm, I realised that they girls cooked their own lunch. Testament again, to the individualistic nature of whites. Asians would definitely share their food with you.

I took a slow limping walk around the hostel. And saw things like this (below). The skull of some strange sea creature caught.

I crossed the road to the other side and tried to get to higher ground for a view. I climbed this ridiculous stairs. It was a climb really. The steps are all frozen, like a slide. You cannot walk on it. I used the railings to pull myself up.


And I got a view. The long building is my ridiculous hostel. It has a great location, but poor facilities, characteristic of a tourist trap.

I continued my walk and planned to go to the cliffs.

I reached the cliff area. It was already quite dark, like 4-5pm. I attempted to walk to the cliffs, but the snow ground was so bad. Every step my feet sink into the ground and I would fall. And I would scream for the pain of my right leg. Some snow would get into me, freezing me. The icy wind mocks my face. And the dark sets in quicker that I could pull my feet out of the snow. At this point, I felt really really really lonely. For once, this feeling gripped me, crippling me, reducing me nearly to some tear. My thoughts went crazy. But I decided to carry on, and fight till I reach the cliffs. At times, I would crawl on the ground, to make my surface area bigger, so I would not sink so deep into the ground. Eventually, I reached the cliffs and climbed a few rocks, slowly, carefully, so as not to hurt my leg or exert too much pressure on it. The wind did not help my case. One mis-step and I could fall real bad. And being alone, there would be no one around to help me, nor hear my scream. Eventually, I reached the end, looked over the dark artic sea. And at this point, I felt like crying. It was not really out of self-pity. Feelings that I made it, despite being completely alone, with a painful leg that cannot straighten itself, and still I crawled all the way through and up. What was I trying to prove I do not know. Proving to myself that I am not as useless with a broken leg? Proving that I did not come here bcos of the german girls? Proving to myself that I did not need their help or phony words? I do not know.


That night, I went back to the hostel to rest. The girls asked me where I went. I said to the cliff. Anna asked if I climbed it. "yes". Anna "With your leg like this?!". I did not reply. Not knowing how to feel towards that comment.
I stayed there, eating my dinner. We had a world map and started looking at it. I wonder if they are trying to alleviate feeling guilty, or was it one of their streaks of individualism again. They decided to plan my europe trip for me. Later, I was to lose my notebook (sorry weiming, i really feel terribly guilty) with all the info in it. I sat there and the hostel master came. Talking cock again. He saw me and said "are u staying for 1 more night?" I said no. Then he said "then you cant stay here. check out time is 12pm" I said sorry, would leave asap as i finish eating. And he remarked "and I dont want to see u in this area as well. its for guests." Well. did the girls said he was nice? ya right.


So I went out, and was prepared to spend some time in the woods here (above). I was expecting the see the northern lights. I had told the girls that it would be a clear night, as I had checked the weather forecast. I found out when I got out, that I read it on the wrong day. I had slept through the clear night in the hostel the previous night. This, plus the fact that I arrived one day late to see the lights (cos the german boys said they saw it the night b4), and was few minutes late to see the lights 2 days ago (the girls said they saw). All these made me think that I was not fated to see. But however fate tries to push me, I still believe that God has the final say. And it shall be good to me.

So I put on every piece of clothing I had, and looked like a puffed up muslim militant.
That night, I went for a walk w the girls. But my bag was too heavy, so I dumped it beside some trees. And walked with them to the beach (below, except that it was too dark then. I took it e next morning). The beach was nice, but utterly cloudy. They asked me when did the forecast said the clouds would go away. I said 11pm. It was 1030pm then, knowing that they cant stand cold, and would not last more than 10mins out there. I could not tell them that I read the forecast wrongly and it was suppose to be yesterday. I really really could not trust them anymore.


On the way back, Anna keep asking me whats my plan for the night, where do I sleep. I did not want to lie to her, so I said its a secret. Which led her to keep probing and trying to make me tell by saying how nice she was to me. Unconvinced. Walking back, they insisted that I had passed the place where my bag was. I really did not think the same. Anne said she passed the mailbox way back then. And twice she said that. I rmbed a mailbox, but not this one. Since she has never been wrong, I trusted her and went back, and it was the wrong spot. I cursed that I should have trusted myself instead. This incident actually gave me more confidence in my street ability.

That night, I sneaked in earlier than planned, since the Northern lights would not be seen and it was too cold.
So I dumped my bag underneath a cabin.


And sneaked into the toilet to sleep. I would wake up at 2am, and suffocate. So I risked it, and went into one of the empty rooms, and slept on the comfy bed. I set my alarm at 4am, to wake up and get back to the toilet. Since the oxygen level in the toilet seens to run out in 2 hours. 6am would be a good sneaking out time. I slept till 630am and was horrified to see the skies completely bright. I thought winter sun only comes out at 8 or 9am. Seems like in the arctic, the sun comes out early. So carefully, I sneaked out from the backdoor. I still left my bag under the cabin.

Then, I took a walk, and decided to check if the bicycle (which I saw lying one the side of the road the day b4) was still there. It was. So I took it, so save me from my slow walking. The girls were to leave at 11am. I dont have much time to walk. However, I discovered that my leg was no good on bicycle. I could not flex. So I cycled with a left leg, to the beach, which looked amazing in the morning.





Feeling completely alone, yet thrilled by the sight, I decided to send 4 sms to friends.




Next, I paddled back to the cliff which I emo-ly climbed yesterday. To see how it's like in daylight. And I even went further :)

On the way there.



Stretch! even with an injured leg. Or fall! And become worse.

Lesson learnt: Do not step on green on cliff edges. Bcos whats supporting the green underneath may not be solid rock. It might just be a few branches. And it would not support you weight and you'll fall. I almost did.


I could not believe that I manage to climb this steep cliff, alone, with an injured right leg which still cannot straighten itself. I start to believe that I possess some special ability for climbing. I even could take a picture of myself doing that using a 10-sec timer. This shows how quick I could get up!
That is a really steep cliff. I literally pasted my whole body onto the rock, to increase surface friction, and inched myself upwards.

At the top of the cliff, it was awesome.

Zoom in below, you can see the range of icy mountains further. It thrills me that I would be going deeper into the arctic 2 days later. And the girls would be heading home. :).






Do not fall John. You'll never make it back alive. If the cliff dont kill you, the sub-zero salt water would.

I wonder how the birds fly here.
At times on the cliff, its so unbelievably windy, that my hat, even notebook gets blown away. And I could almost feel like I would be blown away if I did not sit down. I have a video of just how windy it is. Not gonna post it here though.

Tiny yellow house, is the hostel. Say bye bye. Im happy that im leaving this place, to somewhere even more awesome :). And I'll show you just why.

End of friday night (5th march) to monday morning, first 3 days.
End of Lofoten, Stamsund.