Roasted in Greece

Being back in London feels good. The nice cool weather overcomes any urge to complain about the drizzling afternoon. Nevertheless, the trip to Greece is an experience I will never want to reverse.

It was only last sunday when I remember setting out early in the morning to catch our flight to Athens. It was a bad start with the plane delayed by almost an hour, leading to our late arrival to the Hermes Hotel. Then, we found out that one of us had been arranged to stay in Plaka Hotel, which is a few minutes away. We arranged to meet in the lobby to head out for dinner in Byzantino, recommended by Lonely Planet. With the help of a free map from the airport, we managed to navigate our way around Plaka, arriving at the tavern safely. Along the way, we were fascinated by the liveliness of the atmosphere, reminiscence of the pasar malam back home. Dinner that night cost slighly over EUR30 (expensive!).

The next morning, we set out early to walk to Syntagma Square, led by our tour guide (AJ) from Contiki to catch the bus to Piraeus Port. Although it was still early in the morning, the port was already busy with passengers from the last cruise leaving and us waiting in line to get in. It was a really long wait. Luckily, we had AJ, explaining the processes and procedures to us and ensures that everything runs smoothly. A strange procedure is the handing over of our passport to the crews for entry in various islands. The only proof of identity we had were our ship boarding card in which my name was spelt wrongly. Just great. The ship we were to board was Aquamarine, carrying approximately 2000 passengers with close 2000 crews. My cabin was M157, quadsharing. The cabin was comfortable enough, although there was a lack of space to move around given that two of our roomies had really huge luggages. At 11.15pm, we participated in an emergency lifeboat drill. This is to ensure that we know how to put on our lifejacket and knowing which boat to take (number 11). The process was a strict one. According to a crew, in some ships, if we don't follow the instructions properly, we could be fined. We were only allowed to leave after the Captain's inspection.

The first stop of the day was Mykonos. We arrived at the island late in the afternoon, leaving us with little time to explore the place. As the ship was unable to get close to the port due to strong wind, we had to use a tender boat to get there. The boat can carry probably around 30 - 40 passengers at one time. Getting in was not easy as the wind was blowing strongly, rocking the boat all the time. Then, we had to take a bus to get into town. AJ gave us a walking tour around the main town area. Some of the interesting attractions include the island's mascot i.e. pelicans (we spotted several along our way) and the windmills. We managed to snap a few photos and bought our souvenirs before boarding the ship to head to Patmos.

Unlike Mykonos, known for its whitewashed buildings, Patmos is more known for the Monastery of St. John. AJ took us up the mountain, explaining to us the significance of the attractions as we approached some of the places. The journey was a long and difficult one. One false step and we will tumble down the mountain. Adding to our misery was the extreme heat of a summer day.

In the afternoon, we stopped in Kusadasi, the only Turkish island in our itinerary. As we didn't participate in any of the optional excursions, we had to move around by ourselves. We decided to see Ephesus which is located about 20 minutes away from town by car. So, we got ourselves a cab, costing EUR70 return. The entry cost us 20 lira each (about GBP9), without any concession price. Having seen the magnificent Roman forum, the Ephesus pales in comparison. 45 minutes was all we took to finish the tour. We got back to town earlier to do some shopping. Interestingly, it was on this Turkish island that we spent a lot.

Tuesday was Greek night where passengers were encouraged to dress in white and blue for dinner. We were served with traditional Greek cuisine and later, at 11pm, treated to a Greek show with dancing and singing.

Wednesday was a free and easy day, spent entirely in Rhodes. We used the morning to walk around town and spent the afternoon taking nap! Later in the evening, we had Captain's night where by we get to meet the captain and his crews. It was also a formal dinner.

On Thursday, the ship docked at Heraklion, Crete. We only arrived in Santorini at about 4pm in the afternoon. Of all the islands, Santorini has to be the most beautiful. Once again, we had to use a tender boat to get to the island. The whitewashed buildings were all perched on top of the mountain. So, we had to get up there either by cable car (cost EUR4), donkey ride (same cost) or walk up the zigzag path, shared with the donkeys. We opted for the cable car which took only about 4 minutes. The view from atop was breathtaking. There wasn't really any significant attractions in Thira, the town we visited in Santorini because the whole town itself is THE attraction. This time, we decided to descend by walking. It was not a very nice experience as we had to walk past a whole line of donkeys waiting at the side for their customers. The step itself was rather dangerous with 588 steps! Some of the stones were slippery. I couldn't help imagining myself missing a step and tumbling all the way down. All I could do to ensure my own safety was to concentrate on the steps. It wasn't that wise a decision when I realised that I had lost my friends at the bottom of the stairs. I had missed the turning! There was not a soul in sight. I told myself not to panic and that I will find my way out. Luckily, there were other tourists who missed the step too. So I followed them to the way out. Thus, reuniting with my friends.

That night, we were told to leave our luggages at the doorway to be collected by the crews at midnight. As we were part of Contiki, our guide took the responsibility of collecting all the luggages for us early in the morning (around 6am) to avoid confusion later. This is one of the plus point of being a part of a tour group.

The last 3 days was spent in Athens. The weather was burning hot, leaving us all with very tanned skin. As we can only check in at Athens Backpackers at 1.30pm, we took the opportunity to see a bit of Athens. Our first stop was the Acropolis. To our delight, as students in EU, we were exempted from any entry fees. We received the same privilege at other cultural sites, making Athens the most student-friendly city by far. Later, at the hostel, we got a free upgrade from a 6-person dorm ensuite to a 3-person studio! We were only charged EUR25 per person per night. There's a kitchen (complete with cutlery and cooking utensils), living room with tv, air-conditioner, bathroom and balcony. We were reluctant to leave such a heavenly place. Hence, our afternoon was spent watching the opening of Olympics in Beijing and taking a nap on the cosy sofa.

Later in the afternoon, we dragged ourselves out again to look for food. We decided to look for Bairaktaris, a restaurant popular for souvlaki. It was recommended in the Athens booklet we got from the hostel. It took us awhile to find the said square as the square doesn't look much like a square after all. The restaurant has a very interesting feel with its walls decorated with photos of the owner with famous people. Unfortunately, their service was a let-down. Perhaps I am not accustomed to being "ignored". The food was just alright. I couldn't really finish the souvlaki I ordered. One, the weather was too hot, spoiling my appetite. Two, the meat was too dry even with the sauce.

We began the following day by first visiting the Ancient Agora. Situated on top of the hill is the Temple of Hephaetus and Athena. Our next stop was the Parliament, near Syntagma Square to watch the changing of the guards. The most interesting I noticed was the uniform of the guards. They wear fustanella, a traditional skirt-like garment, matched by a pair of pompom shoes (I am not sure of the actual name). The changing of the guard happens every hour throughout the day. The guards perform a slow dance-like march to switch positions with the newly-arrived guards. The afternoon was spent indoor in the National Archaeological Museum. Main purpose was to avoid the afternoon heat. Our final stop for the day was Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus.

Having completed our Athens tour, we headed to Plaka for souvenirs and dinner. This time, we passed by Byzantino again. A friendly waiter stopped us to try to promote the restaurant to us. After some thoughts, we gave the restaurant another go. This time, I managed to get my "fish soup". It's actually fish with a bowl of soup (most likely vegetable soup). Nevertheless, I had minimal complaint of this dish.

Greece is our last Europe tour for the year. What an amazing finale it is. What do I like about the country? The beautiful islands which are beyond imagination. The student-friendly admission fees in all the major attractions. Of course not all is wonderful. I conclude that I am not a fan of Greek cuisine. And their hospitality is an eye-opener. Not forgetting the organisation of the airport, unlike the other airports I have been to. My biggest disappointment is of course my failure to remember sending the postcards I bought from Athens. My last chance and I blew it. Oh well, I suppose not everything will always go smoothly.