an Eastern Euro's views on backpacking Western Euro - Germany and Belgium (post #4)

Dortmund, Germany
From Amsterdam, a side-stop to Germany.

Visiting a dear friend from Brisbane, now living in Germany! Enjoyed some delicious food such as curry-wurst and homemade breaky and dinners with her lovely new family. Food in Germany very much reminded me of Hungarian cuisine and therefore, here I felt right at home.





Antwerp, Belgium
The diamond capital of the world...for my surprise :)

I am absolutely stoked to be in this country.  Belgium is saturated with history and cultural facts but I am here for research!  I absolutely love their public health research work as they are one of the best in the field, particularly in HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

My first stop is Antwerp, which I actually did not know to be the diamond capital of the world.  And funnily enough, next to the diamond capital is where I stayed in a cute hostel, which was based in the orthodox Jewish quarters of the city. It is a very quirky place with modern shopping districts (no shortage of McDonald's and H&Ms) all mixed within beautiful century old architecture.  Dolce & Gabbana cannot come up with this kind of architecture even if they tried to make a replica.

I managed to find every second-hand shop in the city which was a bonus after drooling over the diamonds which blinded me each time I walked back to my hostel.  I managed to stock up on a few souvenirs and clothes for myself also. My meeting also went well which I was really happy about.

Here are some photos to show you around:








































Next stop, Ghent!

Ghent, Belgium 

I fell in in love with Ghent as soon as I got off the train. The timing was a little rushed, as I had to find the university to attend my meeting, carrying all my bags with me.  After a wonderful discussion, I said my goodbyes and was off to find my next hostel.

Once heading to the hostel, I started to relax and become a tourist again.  My hostel ended up being directly on the river in the heart of the city.  I could see all 4 clock towers from my place.  The hostel was a traditional Flemish stone building structure with stained glass windows. I felt like being taken back centuries and landed in medieval times.

I spent most of my days eating, attending walking tours, and eating some more !





View from my hostel:




My hostel on the right










Next stop, Brussels....more waffles!


Brussels, Belgium 

Here I spent mote time on eating, attending walking tours, second-hand shops and the markets. More sunny but chilly days however, for tourism it is the best time to travel.  So far, everything is half priced and crowds are minimal....seems much more relaxed to be around the tour companies also.

an Eastern Euro's views on backpacking Western Euro - The Netherlands: Amsterdam (post #3)

After nearly 3 weeks of walking/working in Uganda, it was strange to arrive in cold temperatures. First week of February in Amsterdam was overall sunny and chilly but without snow on the ground.

I arrived in darkness at 6am, trying to find the hostel.  I asked a few hotel concierge to help direct me towards the hotel which was successful.  I waited for my check in time at the Flying Pig, and realized with some time that my luggage was a major inconvenience due to the never ending staircase in the hostel.  Once successfully checked in, I grabbed a city map and started my discovery.

Sun was shining, but the weather required multiple layers to keep me warm during my walking discoveries.  At one point, large flakes of snow flakes started to fall....however, it quickly turned to rain....so my few days here felt like 4 seasons in 4 days.

Here are some photos while discovering Amsterdam































































Cheers
R :)

Day 15: Renata vs Corruption...and honesty wins!

It's finally time to reunite with Thao and Dan, and many of their family members and relatives! Meeting Thao and attending Van's wedding was the priority of my journey through Vietnam....and the time has come to finally meet Thao's entire family !

So exciting!

I arrived a few minutes before Thao....and had to walk from the domestic to the international terminal, as Dan organised our meeting :)

Once at the international terminal....I had the chance to hug Dan, and some of Thao's family....who were waiting eagerly to both of our arrival..... the suspense was building.....and Thao was still no where to be seen!

Finally, Thao appears from the crowd ...head down....walking passed me straight to her family....Dan and I look at each other surprised....and wait to see what is going on.  Thao is talking fast ....and everyone looks very concerned while they are listening to her....

Dan, goes over to the group to see what is going on.....and comes back to me with this story:
"The customs guy is asking Thao for cash payment for the gifts she's bringing into the country.  He's demanding $100 in cash...and well Thao was not prepared for this surprise."

While her family is calling around friends for help....the Romanian instinct ignites within me..... the experience of growing up in an ex-communist country is seemingly useful to have when faced with such situation.....and it just might save Thao some trouble.

I approach Thao, and explain to her that if she wants....I can go in and demand to pay using Mastercard.  No blackmail will be done over paper copy ....plus I'm a foreigner and they rather not mess with me :)

At first, everyone is silent......Thao thinks about my plan .....then with her family's support ....Renata's plan is about to unfold ....

I walk past security....and immediately they wanted to stop me....but Thao quickly explained what I told her, which is to tell them that I'm picking up 'my' luggage.....but I was walking too fast for Thao to actually translate my sentence.....and we were both through the double doors ...without much resistance....security could not keep up to me.....

Then, arriving to customs.....the gentleman who refused to let Thao through with her luggage.....with a complete stunned face....greets both Thao and I.....but without hesitation, I immediately sign "Mastercard" and funnily enough.....I realize that either mastercard is a universal sign....or I am extremely good at sign language :)

The guy was so scared of my request to pay using mastercard that he immediately pointed to Thao's luggage.....and told us to move on.

Corruption, nil.....Renata and Thao, 1 ....!

I do love it when 'creative' honestly trumps corruption .......

However, after having a great laugh with Thao's family in the car.....I started to think about the reality of this experience occurring to me in Romania.  If this was the case on my end...within my familiar country....I think I would have been just as scared as Thao.

You see, it is much more difficult to speak up against your own 'kind' (sort of speak) ....as people of authority could in fact make up a story, and find a reason to put you away in jail.

As we were driving home to Thao's place....I was contemplating that maybe this is not something I should repeat next time.

But it sure makes for an awesome dinner story for the next little while  :)

Cheers
R :)


After Thao received her luggage

Day 12-13-14: Under the coconut tree in Hoi An

Mia, who I met in Phong Nha, highly recommended staying Under the Coconut Tree home stay while visiting Hoi An.  From Da Nang, it's only 1 hour by local bus....visiting Hoi An is a very simple trip away from the big city.

The recommendation was spot on....and An Bang beach became my 3rd favourite place in Vietnam, after Sapa and Phong Nha!

I could have stayed here for an entire month....just relaxing and meeting really chill people!

My very last day, I had the chance to bike around the rice fields which really was a highlight after swimming and getting sunburned after my first few days here.

Overall, I cannot recommend this place enough!!!

Cheers
R :)