I woke up on time today, thank goodness!! Hehe...it snowed today in Lauterbrunnen, but as I got to the train station which is only 20 minutes down the valley, there was no more snow. It was mad freezing though! Went to sort out my tickets to Lucerne and then to Como at the ticket office. It's quite amazing how you can get all these necessities sorted here despite the language barrier. With my little bit of french, all I said was, "s'il vous plait, un billet pour Lucerne, un billet pour Lucerne to Como. What time and how much?" I guess that was enough to communicate.
The Golden Pass from Interlaken to Lucerne was different from the one on sunday. I suppose it was due to the weather. It was mainly misty but still picturesque, like those sceneries you might see in Lord of the Rings. Somewhere in 2/3rd through the journey, around Brunig, it was snowing like it's christmas. 30 minutes later, no more snow. Weird gila. At one particular area, the houses at the bottom of the hill looked like it was already spring, then when i looked up a bit, the houses up there had snow all around them. Imagine if you were staying there and you had a cousin up the hill, and you go, "hey man...how's the weather up there? Looks like a dreadful winter from down here. Wanna warm up at my place?" hahaha.
Lucerne was freezing cold as well when I arrived. Then it started to rain pulak. I could only imagine how it would look like on a sunnier day. Went to one of the cheaper streets to get some souvenirs a.k.a swiss chocolates. I had to get myself one of those sigg bottles since they are so cheap compared to KL. Also got a swiss army knife, although I'm not really sure what I would do with it. Kekekee...i took some pictures, whatever I could get without getting my cameras wet. I walked around for a bit to find lunch i could buy for less than 10 francs, since that was about all the cash I had left on me. Found a little stall that sold a sandwich and soda for 7.50. It was tomato and mozarella. Sedap gila sandwich tu...!! Or maybe i was just hungry.
A half hour later, I felt like I needed to use the loo..went to look for one at the train station, and oh my, it costs 2 swiss francs to get in???? Bleh makan lunch ok in KL. Because it was so freaking expensive to take a piss, I felt obliged to stay in the toilet for several more minutes than needed. Then i sat down for a bit at the vanity desks and took some time to reorganize my backpack, since lugging around 1kg of chocolates was starting to take a toll on me. People who get the chocolates later better savour it to the last bit and remember my trouble lugging it around for 3 weeks ok!!!!! Kakakaaa...
It was drizzling by then, so I decided to kill the 1.5 hour i still had at the train station. A train station is called "bahnhof" ye murid2...hehe. Somehow, with all that time, I still managed to get on my train at the very last minute. Of course so kecoh when I got to my compartment and there were four really old ladies already in there who had to rearrange themselves so I could get my bag in. I noticed one thing about the Italian trains - bau dia lain macam sikit. Hehee..
The ride went in and out of mountain tunnels. It was amazing at one point before a tunnel it was completely snowing, then as we emerged at the end suddenly the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the grass green. Twilight zone habis!! As the train travelled further south, the weather became more mediterranean. Somehow, the houses look more ghetto-ish, the people get ruder but they look more fashionable than the ones up north. Must be the italian genes..Hehe..
The train stopped in Chiasso (kiasu?) for about 15 minutes for immigration checks. So easy. The officers just went from compartment to compartment to check our passports, then they had the police dogs sniffing for illegal items.
The ride from Chiasso to Como was only a few minutes, and guess what? I managed to miss my stop. Hahahaaaa. Bodoh betul aku ni. When I got to the exit, a hoarde of chinese tourists were coming in and they wouldn't let me pass through. The train moved before I could get off. So I had to wait until I reach Milan so I could take the train back to Como. My fault, I should've gone and waited at the door as the train approached the station. hehe...padan muka! A kind man helped me explain to the train officer about my situation. With the little italian that I capisce, I found out that he's from Bologna. I didn't understand much else.
So i reached milan (damn people just smoke everywhere!), and after 15 minutes trying to figure out where to buy a ticket, I got on an express train back to Como. Nak cari hotel lagi satu hal. No taxi would take me because they told me it's so near. Anyway, I'm finally now snug in my room. It's very clean, and it's just like what I imagined budget hotels in Italy would be like. Bukak tingkap, ada balcony with a complimentary view of some back alley. Hahaha...i'm now enjoying a kebab and some baklava. Ada pulak kedai halal kat tepi hotel ni.
My few hours so far in Italy have been rather difficult. Not many can speak english, so I really had to remember what I learned many years ago.
No pictures yet for today..i'm on wi-fi via my pda. Nyesal tak beli macbook air heheee..If my entries seem long-ish, it's because I wrote it along the way while riding the train today.
Ciao tutti!
