Sneak preview of Eastern Europe Backpacking Adventure...

城市之光

吃东西，买东西，吃东西，买东西，买东西。。。 这可以说是我整个行程的节目。虽然我并没有买很多东西给自己，但是买礼物给朋友和亲人也是一个很不错的感觉呀。 因为这样，我每当走过仍何当口都会停下脚步，慢慢地细逛是否有适合的礼物。就连庙街的小档口我也不放过。这可苦了我那可怜的伙伴， 陪我逛街了一整天；走得脚都快要断了。连我这个“Shoppaholic"都快陈不下去，何况是他。我想，对他来说，爬富士山也没那么辛苦。但体贴的他却一句怨言也没有。。。

说到吃东西，给我最深刻映像的还是那个“富贵”冰淇淋。除了这个，我想新加坡的美食还是比较好吃。有谁能让我对此改观呢？

住在都市的我起初还有点不习惯去另一个都市游玩， 尤其是一个跟新加坡很相像的国家。但我好快的就被“她”的魅力给深深的迷住了。谁能抵挡着“她”夜里散发的光芒呢 。

七彩缤纷， 美丽四射， 神采飞扬的灯舞点缀了面向星光之道的天空。

这些亮丽的告示给那热闹的街边以及小巷增添了许多色彩。

我想这应该是世界上最长的遮盖扶梯吧。。。

早晨的光芒与飘然无形的神烟制造了庙里奥秘的气氛。

澳门著名的‘圣珀拉’之塔

Sipadan paradise

Sipadan Water Village during
our surface interval before diving at Kapalai

Never have I seen so much marine life in any dive sites I have been so far - lots of fishes, turtles, sharks, and more!
I thought Manado is good, well... the reef is almost comparable to that of Manado, but with lots of fishes!

Quick facts:
- Visibility of abt 15m (The local DM told me the best season is between April to Jul where the visibility could go up to 30m, but current would be stronger.)
- Temperature abt 28 to 29 degree celcius (important information for people like me as I freeze easily and that could easily spoil my dive)
- Also a great place for snorkelling, though I personally don't like snorkelling (if you can dive, why snorkel?)

It's getting late now, so I'll just do a picture blog here and share of my experience in Sipadan when I have got more time to write.

The Sun, beach and sea!

Somebody says this is the Gairu-style of diving...

But, here's the Real Gairu... Bravo XXgairu!

Kame-san, our friend

Spot the odd one out..

Backpacking in Greece IV

Day 14 - Athens
The city of Athens was quite a sight! Concrete blocks sprouting out from sloping land, and the magnificent acropolis standing high and above the mosaic art of life.

For the last few days, we couchsurfed with Elpi - a sweet and funny girl. We even get to meet one of her good friends, Yota. They are such nice and sincere friends you wouldn't want to miss out knowing. Again, it's a pity we couldn't get to stay with her longer as we had to go off for day trips for the next few days...

Breakfast with Elpi before we set off to Peloponesse

Day 15 - Peloponesse - Epidavros, Mycanae

First stop at Epidavorus for the legendary amphitheatre with unbelievable acoustics (drop a coin at the centre of the stage, and one could hear it even from the furthest point in the theatre).

The mountain range afar form a nice backdrop for the ancient stage.

After Epidavros, we went to Mycanae, an ancient fortress and city. It is famous for it's Lion Gate, which you would never miss as you enter the site. Another important site you shouldn't miss is the Tomb of Atreus, which is shapped like a beehive. The sheer size of that beehive-shaped tomb is amazing!I wonder how the people built it with their ancient technology.

After the tour of the ruin and ancient city, we stopover at Naplifo for a night. We managed to get a nice domatia with a good view of Naplio. At our balcony, we could see the orange-lighted fortress that gleam in the dark. I could even see it through the little window as I bath...how wonderful!

Day 16 - Peloponesse - Napflio, Corinth

After Mykines, we decided to brave the heat and climbed Nine Hundreds, ninety-nine steps to reach the fort...and to find out that we could take a bus up!!! Well, this's the best fortress I have ever seen, I can't believe the city was captured without any struggles with such great fort.

The Fortress high above the hill

Nice sunset at Naplio

The door leading to paradise?

Mykines

Restored art piece on display at Corinth

Day 17 to 18 - Meterora

This is one place that you shouldn't miss if you're in Greece. Not too difficult to reach from Athens with my resourceful dear as it's just 3hrs train ride away. There are a total of 6 monastaries perched atop these hills.

On the 1st day there, we hike up under the scorching hot sun and managed to visit 2 of them.

On the next day, I was spared the tedious hike and we took a bus up to the furthest monastery. We managed to cover the rest of it by foot and hitching a ride from kind visitors.

Isn't it amazing how they managed to build monastery on top of these pinnacles?

Wonders of nature

Day 19 - Hydra

Last island hopping escape at beatiful Hydra where artists goes for inspirations and ideas...

A little Donkey friend I made along the way..

The picturesque harbour

Beautiful sea

Day 20 -Athens, Rest and Relax

Elphi managed to find one of her friend, Nicos, another couchsurfer to host us for our last day in Athens. We are really lucky I think, as we get to know another great person who's really friendly and funny. We had a great time staying with him, riding the cows and having some homecooked dinner. He also took the trouble to bring us up a hill in Athens to check out the awesome night scene. It's those kind of things only the locals would know about it.

Is this the Milkyway?

Underneath the fun-loving nature lies a nice, family guy...

~ The End ~

Yahoo! I finally managed to finish my Greece blog!

Backpacking in Greece Part III

This series will be on Beautiful islands of the Cyclades... no words can describe the awe and beauty of these islands. Enjoy the picture blog.

Day 8- Santorini

Top facade of the church against the Misty blue sea

White-washed buildings stacking on top of the other by the cliff edge,

with backdrop of deep blue sea and baby blue skie blending in like a beautiful piece of painting...

~ no wonder it's such a photogenic place.

Hotel Katikies - the most beautiful, and also the most expensive Resort in Oia...

I will want to try it one day...

Getting a good spot to view the most beautiful sunset in the Cyclades - Oia, Santorini

The Most beautiful Sunset point in Oia...

Day 9 - Santorini, volcanic island tour

Crystal clear water...

Day 10 - Paros

Dusty pink sunset

Searching for the Jersey Tiger Moths in Petaloudes ...

and 'notty' Eugene checking out the flaming-red wings as the moths flee away in fright.

When you can no longer find these beautiful butterflies-lookalike next season, you know why...

Giving these little lambs some workout on a lazy afternoon...

I bet they had never felt so energetic!

Day 11 - Mykonos

Huge flock of seagulls hovering over the coast as they await morsels of fish intestines hurled out into the open sea...

Couldn't wait for a better chance to catch the seagulls close-up in flight!

Beautiful!

"Little Venice"

Believe me..the real sights is as beautiful as these paintings..

Most-photographed windmills in Greece, Mykonos

Day12 - Delos

The Lions of Delos guarding over the ancient city...

Day 13 - Tinos

Beautiful floras commonly seen as we trudged through narrow path overgrown with weeds, in search of a close-up encounter with the dove-cotes.

The famous dove-cotes

Can you see the doves?

Church of Panagia Evangelistria -most important pilgrimage site in Greece.

Even carpets are paved from the pier to the entrance of the church for the thousands of devotees who crawl to the church during easter each year.

~End of our island-hopping entourage in Greece~

Backpacking in Greece Part II

Day 4 - Crete, Samarian Gorge

It is regarded as one of Europe's greatest natural wonders and believed to be the longest in Europe at 18km. To be able to complete the long hike, we had to set off early and reach there by 9am so that we could catch the ferry back at 5.30pm. (When I calculated the distance i covered on the first day in Athen by foot, it came up to abt 7km only and i was already very tired! Imagine 18km...)

The whole hike took us about 5hours. The beautiful scenery, interesting rock formations and ever changing landscape makes the trip all worth it. At the end of the long hike, you could even chill out at the pebble beach before taking a ferry back to Chania. Though I must warn anybody who can't wait to jump into the inviting, sparkling clear blue water, as it's ice cold even on a hot, hot day. (Reason: Aegean Sea..erm.. I think it should be the Libyan Sea..)

Trekking down the Gorge

Misty Mountain range in the distance

The famous iron gate

Day 5: Crete - Rythemno

In the afternoon, after breakfast at the balcony, we had to bid farewell to our wonderful hosts and the nice countryside view of mountains and greenery to get to our next destination. Before we catch the coach ride to Rythmno, we went back to Old Town Market Square for the yummy lamb soup. Though it looks simple, every mouthful is well infused with the flavour of lamb, with bits of chewy pasta to whet your appetite. Indulging in the soft, tender meat that easily separates from the bones is ever so heavenly... we were lucky (it was on the house) to have a cup of chilled house white to wash down the bread to wrap up the satisfying meal. Nevermind the simple set-up and the close proximity to the butcher store (perhaps that's why all their meat dishes, even fishes, are fresh!), going to where the men clad in black is having their meals is never wrong.

Clear, but flavourful soup...

Light and fruity white wine with Compliments from the Owner

The Master Chef of the Yummilicious Lamb soup

Rythemno is famous for its romantic night view. I like the small, little shops that line the streets. A rather huge fortress sitting on elevated ground, facing the beautiful old town of Rythemno. A pity we spent most of the time scouring for a reasonably priced rental car for our next day adventure, though I am always trailing behind as I stopped intermittenly to admire the beauty of the streets, or the colourful wares of the quaint little shop.

Day 6: Crete - Iraklio

Road trip to Iraklio! Exciting! Though I wish I could get to control the wheels too... That would be a real adrenalin rush. Anyway, being a vehicle commander is not too bad as I could afford to drool at the picturesque valleys, sleepy villages, or even occassional miniature little churches built on little stilts, though time and again, I have to be reminded of my important task on-hand. Well, considering the out-dated tools (tourist map) that I had, I guess I didn't fare too badly, as we managed to find out why colourful boxes are placed out of nowhere on mountains, see some mountain goats, get to where we need to go, and of course, get to Iraklio at the end of the day!*Grin*

The Crew: ~Sky Ge Ge

The Official "Vehicle Commander"

Little churches built along the expressway on random spots.

When we realised why, it was rather spine-chilling...

Well, let's look on the positive side..

Matala Beach

Knossos, one of the important Archeological site

Day 7: Iraklio, the capital of Crete

For Breakfast, we tried the specialty of Greece at a little traditional bakery - little golden balls of doughnut drapped with honey, and sprinkled with cinanmon powder for flavour. When you sunk your teeth into its crispy skin, it reveals a warm and soft dough that melts in your mouth. Oiishi...

Lunch was just another meal of Slovakia. A good one though. Hot grilled slices of pork, topped with generous helpings of thick, crispy (yet soft on the inside) fries, slash of sour cream, fresh tomatoes, onions and salads - wrapped with in a pipping hot pita bread. All these for 2.30 Euro! The serving is so generous, it was filling for us though both of us only shared one.

Dinner was a sumptous mixed grilled plate from a Slovakia store. Most restaurants are closed on Sundays (I meant traditional looking ones that served local favourites and not kind that caters to tourist), so we ended up there since such slovakia outlet usually serve reasonably priced food and the dishes wouldn't go wrong. We did not regret it. The servings are huge... it's more than enough for two.

After dinner, we went for a slow walk along the fortress wall that fenced up the old harbour. We even manged to catch the sunset. Beautiful!

As the sky darkens, the Arched Arsenal of Venetian influence nearby stood up from the rest - it glimmers under the colourful spotlight that defines the simple lines on the structure.

(Next day, to the most photogenic island in Cyclades....to be continued.)