The Lost Scrolls of Our Travels Pt. 2
And here is the only European diary entry I had time to write. I found key notes at the bottom of these entry, to remind myself of what I needed to write about. If anybody finds these notes prompt questions, feel free to ask why I felt it important enough to make a note of, and I’ll see if I can elaborate. Enjoy the last of my travel entries from South-East Asia and Switzerland. Don’t worry, it’s certainly not the end of travel entries altogether, as shown by the Bath travel entry above!
Sunday, 29th January, Martahaus Guesthouse, Zurich, 6:35pm
Well we seem to have avoided severe jet lag! We realised we’d spent approximately over 24 hours in airports or on airplanes (we arrived at Singapore at about 5pm, left at 12am, flew for 13 hours, waited for 2 hours in London, then flew for 2 hours to Zurich, then spent an hour organising baggage and train tickets into town). It was really surreal being in London but not being in London. We were so focussed on Zurich, that it suddenly hit us how strange it was to be only metres away from London city as we sat in the terminal waiting for our connecting flight to Switzerland .
We also bought the TV show “Extras” and watched an episode on our swanky new laptop. The new laptop is our new baby, purchased in Singapore for about $1500. A big investment, but James in particular needs a good computer to do his web stuff on. But I still have this bizarre loyalty to Lappy, aka The Brick, the hunk of outdated technology we lugged all around Asia, which didn’t break when every other brand new electronic item did, which entertained us by being so old it could support DOS Games, which helped us get through many a TV-less night. I find myself trying to explain to Lappy that we’re not replacing him, it’s just that he’s not able to do some of the things that Toppy (the new laptop) can. I explain that since Toppy has no word processing programs, Lappy is still my number one when it comes to my writing. Hence, when given the chance to write this entry on the new laptop, I declined, and loyally continued my journal on my old friend Lappy. James says, with fatherly pride, that Lappy could stop a bullet. Seriously. Lappy’s that solid, sturdy, reliable. That’s why Lappy was our backpacking computer, that’s why we waited until the end of our trip to considering purchasing another laptop.
Anyway, I should probably talk about our adventures. We’re in Switzerland! And Switzerland is incredible. Every step reveals something beautiful, cobblestones under your feet, the sunlight falling on the golden spire of a cathedral, a window-box filled with flowers, shutters faded with once bright paint. 600-year-old buildings still in incredible condition, inviting pubs, hot, trustworthy food, and cheap, cheap chocolate! I’ve always known that I’m a Europe traveller at heart, rather than an Asia traveller. I loved Asia, I really did, but coming to Europe is like coming home. It fills me like a lost spirit, like oxygen in my blood, this overwhelming, inflating joy at the atmosphere, the culture, the buildings, the everything. Even the way the powerlines hang makes me close my eyes, suck in the crisp Winter air, tell myself to never forget this moment. It’s cold here, really cold, but the air is chill and sharp and wakes me up in a way that humidity and heat never can. In the hot, I wilt. In the cold, I spark, I come to life, I walk faster and smile wider, I feel more energy and more enthusiasm. In the heat, I just want it all to end. I want to go to sleep, I want to sit down, I want to throw my head and make inane, exhausted noises like “meh” and “gah.”
At the same time, I’m finding it hard to shake two months of Asia. By this, I mean that when I see a white person, I keep thinking they’re a rarity, a tourist like us, and I have to remind myself that they’re not unique at all. I always felt an instantaneous bond with a Western tourist in out-of-the-way places around Asia, and I have to remind myself that we don’t instantly have that bond now, they won’t be able to exchange secret, knowing smiles with me, or be able to discuss the journey they’re undertaking. I also have to stop being surprised when an Asian person speaks in an English or American accent, or speaks German or French; no, not being racist, I’m just amazed how used I got to hearing that wonderful broken English (and I do seriously love the sound of English being spoken as a second language), that broken, s-less version of English we heard for two months straight. We have to stop crossing the road whenever we feel like. And we have to remind ourselves that people most likely understand us again, and we can’t be so open with our conversations. It’s obvious we’re in Europe, but it’s difficult to break the habits I unconsciously adopted throughout Asia (I accidentally wai’d [when you place your hands together in a prayer-like gesture in front of your chest and bow your head slightly] a German waiter at dinner tonight. James laughed at me).
It’s great to be somewhere so different, and especially somewhere so beautiful. We saw the remains of snow this afternoon, and are hoping it snows during the night so we can see fresh snow tomorrow morning before it melts. Zurich is so clean, as well, and very orderly and safe-feeling. There’s this amazing river running the centre of town that is crystal clear, so rare for a city river! Rambling, cobble side streets stretch like capillaries up between buildings, so that you could wander this city for a month and still discover new streets and new places. The people seem so far fairly friendly, but of course not as friendly as Asian people. Asian people love to help, whereas it sometimes feels like asking a question in English isn’t as easy to do here, maybe because it’s not a very touristy area, and perhaps most people assume we’re Swiss.
Our room here is costing us $100, which makes us feel right silly for bitching so much about Melaka, but in Switzerland you expect to pay such insanely high prices. Our room is okay, nothing too spectacular, but we’re warm and safe, and breakfast is included, so we’re happy with that. It’s probably foolish, though, to go from some of the cheapest countries in the world to one of the most expensive! Foolish or interesting. I prefer interesting. We’re trying not to choke on every price we see, and so far it seems that, outside of the exorbitant accommodation prices, the cost of food and other such things in Zurich are quite reasonable in context with Australia or London. And cheap chocolate!! Cheap, cheap chocolate.
- Cabaret Voltaire
- Melaka bus trip to Stinkypore, customs, drug mules
- Nothing too much in Stinkypore, just shopping, Toppy, nice hotel, learning heaps about Chinese New Year