I arrived in Christchurch by the colourful Virgin Airlines. Anyone who has taken the flight will have a deep impression of the airlines as it is different from the traditional airlines. There are posters and advertisments inside the plane. When the plane landed, there were loud cheers and chaps (from the speakers).
I took the seven o’clock morning train on the scenic route from Auckland and reached Wellington at seven o’clock in the evening. The 12 hours’ ride was spectacular with the view of the snow mountain. We even had a stop in the National Park to get down for photo taking. In the city, I took the cable car up to the hillside and had the aerial view of the city. From Wellington, I took the domestic flight to Christchurch which is in the south island.
Fremantle is just about 45 minutes of train ride from the city of Perth. I was there on a Friday afternoon. The place is bit of slow and quiet. I think I see more people in MBC than in Fremantle. The Fremantle Market opens only on weekends. I bought a T-shirt from one of those tourist shops at a discounted price of A$10. The next day when I was in Perth, I saw T-shirts with the same design are selling at A$5 each. Got cheated!!!!
From Perth, I took the Indian Pacific Train (印度太平洋火车) to Adelaide. The journey is 2 days and 2 nights (48 hours). The train had a stop at Kalgoorlie at about 1am. I got out of the train with my seat partner (a young German girl) to explore the quiet town. We walked for about 30 minutes and finally found McDonald’s.
The train continued. We passed by 2 deserted towns – Tarcoola and Forrest. We had our second stop in Cook Town. There are only 5 men and one fat woman living in this 鸟不下蛋的地方. We got off the train and had a self-guided tour in this ghost town for about 2 hours.
St Kilda is about an hour walk from the city of Melbourne. As I was staying a distance away from the the city, I have to take about an hour walk to the city and another hour walk to the beach in St Kilda. I never take any bus or train when I was in Melbourne. I only once took the free city bus to travel around the city (I took 3 rounds). Most of my travel are on foot and with a map.
While I walking towards St Kilda, I found that there was no many vehicles on the road. Later I realised it was the day of the Pride Parade and some of the roads were closed. I joined in the crowd to watch the parade and took some pictures.
The parade ended with music, dance and performance in the park near to the beach.
Italy is my first and last stop for the Europe trip. I arrived in Milan and flew back from Rome. Milan is a cosmopolitan metropolis with a European flair, and is considered one of the world’s fashion and design capitals.
A must visit place is the the Duomo di Milano (Cathedral). You could pay 7 Euro and climb up to the roof top to have a aerial view.
I joined the free walking tour and visited the Sforzesco Castle and other places.
Even if you are not into arts, Santa Maria delle Grazie is also a must visit. In this small church you could see the original Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The last Supper” painted on the wall. According to the website, you will have to book the ticket at least one month in advance as they only allow about 20 people per visit and each visit last about 30 minutes. I was lucky as one of the tourists did not turn up at the particular time slot when I was there. So, I took over the place. We were not allowed to take pictures during the tour but I still managed to get a few shots without flash.
See what the people have done to Milan.
I stayed in the town of Assmago when I was in Milan. I also stayed in another place but I do not know the name of that place.
Rome is the capital city of Italy. I stayed in Rome for 5 days and I think this is not enough. There are so many places to visit in Rome and all of them are within walking distance. All the roads will lead you to the attractions in the center of Rome.
The Colosseum is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and it is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world, despite its age. There is an entrance fee for getting inside and I did not get in due to my tight backpacker’s budget.
The Castel Sant’Angelo is definitely worth the visit not because of the exterior beauty of the monument but you will also get an idea of how Rome has changed over a period of 2000 years when you are inside. There is a entrance fee to get inside but I just stayed outside to admire the building and took some pictures. Money not enough.
The Spanish steps attract tourists from all over the world. It have been the backdrop to notorious films, important events and fashion shows. This place is pleasant and interesting and I could see people flocking to here from all over the places. There is no entrance fee.
The legend of the Mouth of Truth is that liars who placed their hand inside the sculpture would immediately lose it. I did not put my hands inside the mouth as I was afraid that I would break the masterpiece and unable to pay for the damage.
Rome was not built in one day. There is a need for time to create great things.
I got free accommodation from the local for 2 nights and stayed another 2 nights in the backpacker.
The Netherlands is informally known as Holland. The capital of The Netherlands is Amsterdam. When I reached Amsterdam, I realized that was the day of the Pride Parade.
The Brandenburg Gate is one of Berlin’s most important monuments for more than two hundred years. However, this landmark is in East Berlin and have been separated from the West by the wall for more than 50 years.
There are many old buildings in Berlin, especially in the eastern side. When I arrived in East Berlin in 1989, I was not allowed to wonder around in the airport and was escorted to the west by the coach. Coincidentally the Berlin wall collapsed one month after I left Germany.
20 years later, I visited Berlin again and this time I could walk from the West to the East freely. Now I could be a tour guide to Berlin.
I took the city tour bus to get familiar with the city
This is one of the best known pieces of Berlin wall graffiti art. The painting depicts the Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev and East Germany’s SED Party Chairman Erich Honecker in a socialist fraternal kiss during the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic.
There was a cycling event when I was in Berlin.
This is the way to the nude beach
Rais is Singaporean working in Berlin and he arranged for me to stay in one of this friend’s house while I was in Berlin. I slept on a sofa that can turned into a bed.
I got to know a IT Professor in Beijing Insititute of Technology in Zhuhai 北京理工大学珠海学院. Followed his instructions, I took a bus (S$7) from Zhenshen to the University and stayed in the campus for 2 nights.
