20151022 Iceland with its famous Blue Lagoon

When I was little, I wanted to visit Iceland because I thought it was a land full of ice. Ironically, it is quite a lot greener than Greenland while Greenland is quite a lot icier than Iceland.

Iceland is the land of fire and ice. What does this mean? It means that there are many geothermal spots and many hot springs, the most famous of which is the Blue Lagoon. As with most things in Iceland, it is not cheap to visit the Blue Lagoon so you've got to plan your day well. Our friend told us we could get the tickets at the counter when we reach so we didn't bother booking online. We were lucky because we went during an off-peak season and we went in the morning. Another friend went during Easter week and was told that the earliest entry time was 7pm. It was 2pm when they reached. So yes, I would recommend booking your Blue Lagoon package online. 

We booked 2-way transport from town to the lagoon via Bustravel Iceland at around S$72 for two. The price did not include entrance to Blue Lagoon. Being the kiasu people we are, we took the 8.45am trip and the journey took about 45 minutes. 

The thing about Iceland is how it manages to surprise you. I thought the Blue Lagoon was just like another other hot springs. Boy, was I wrong. 

As the bus meandered down the road into Blue Lagoon, we saw fields and fields of lava. According to the driver, they are pretty young lava fields. I guess this means that they were formed more recently; "recent" being a relative term. 

When we alighted, the driver informed us of the timings available for the return trip and we could hop on to any.

Since we were still feeling warm from the cozy interior of the bus, we decided to explore the lands around the Blue Lagoon. And what a treat it was. 

There's blue and then there's blue.

You'll see these gorgeous beds of blue water and if you're lucky, the sun will be peeping out while you take all those selfies.

The contrast of the blue against the dark lava field is quite spectacular. 

The unexpected photo spot at the Blue Lagoon

Gotta take me one of those contemplative floatfie shots

Marveling at the lava fields

The weather in Iceland can get a bit kooky. When you see the sun out, do as much exploring as you can because it may start pouring after 5 minutes. And with the long hours needed to travel from Singapore to Iceland, it's not very likely you will plan a return trip soon. Oh, of course you'll be quite pok (read: broke) after a trip here. 

Depending on the ticket you buy, you may need to bring along towel and slippers. You can be a Singaporean and wear slippers there instead of covered shoes. Then I salute you. 

I expected the Blue Lagoon to be similar to our local public swimming pools. You know, water to wade in, a small cafeteria and a small shop to sell some essentials. Maybe coin slot lockers, a filmsy entry ticket and basic shower facilities. 

WRONG!

The Blue Lagoon is definitely a 5-star wading pool. Water to wade in? Yes, but it's mineral-rich water that makes your skin so soft and supple. Small cafeteria? Yes, but it's with awesome smoothies and there's an amazing restaurant, Lava, which served us the best meal I had in Iceland. 

Here's proof:

Amazing warm bread served with a blob of ??

Arctic char with fennel, pearl onion, cucumber, toasted bread aioli

Langoustine soup with garlic-marinated langoustine, white chocolade, seaweed

FRESH Cod, sunchokes, almonds, grapes, brown butter sauce

Rack of lamb with cabbage, smoked onion, lemon, green cabbage, apple 

“Ástarpungar” & caramel with caramel chocolate mousse, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel

There was a hiccup with serving our desserts. They got delayed and they served us the same item even though we ordered different sets. We didn't want to make a fuss so we tried to eat them. Not our cup of tea. 

It's important to travel with people with similar taste in food. If you are a foodie and will die without trying new things, then travelling with a picky eater will be quite a challenge. Of course you can eat everything yourself but you'll be too full to try more or you'll be wasting food in order to try more. 

A small shop to sell essentials? Yes, but they also sell high-end Blue Lagoon spa products. A hand cream sets you back a pretty S$55. The shop also sells swimsuit but fugly ones so bring your own. 

Yes, you need to wear swimsuit. If you are conscious about your body, don't be! Firstly, the steam at the lagoon makes it hard for anyone to really see your cellulite. Besides, if Kate Moss has them, us mere mortals should be ok with ours. And you can wear a t-shirt and shorts over your swimsuit. Secondly, the water is opaque so once you're in the lagoon, people don't see the parts of your body that are submerged. You are encouraged to tie your hair up and not go underwater water because the high silica content will tangle your hair like mad and sting your eyes like crazy. And finally, once you disrobe in the 4 deg.C air, you will be rushing into the water so whatever body hangups you have will last 10 seconds at most. 

So long as you don't slip and fall. x_x

If you intend to take photos, bring your weatherproof camera or casing. My brother's trusty Olympus weatherproof one worked well. I saw someone trying to use their iPhones for a selfie while they kept it inside a water-proof bag. Too much work.

Coin slot lockers, flimsy entry ticket and basic shower facilities? Wrong! 

These are our entry tickets:

We tapped the electronic wristbands to buy stuff, lock lockers, exit and make payment.

The shower facilities came with high pressure water, big cubicles and toiletries. You can also find cotton wool, cotton buds and hairdryers. Be warned though that some cubicles do not have doors and some body-confident people do use them. Don't worry, ladies and gents have separate areas. We had a shock though because a nude old lady used one of these cubicles facing out instead of the wall and was happily grinning at everyone who walked by. 

I had visited hot springs before and I can't say I'm a big fan. I prefer the cold and being hot makes me pekcek. 

Blue Lagoon changed my mind. The water was a balmy 30+deg. C and the contrast with the cold air was just nice. If you're too hot, you can stand straighter to cool down and vice versa. 

This is an underwater shot. See, it's really opaque. No need to hold your stomach in.

Yes, steammmmy...

You can buah as much of this on your face as you want. It's free! 

The landscape was not as ideal as we would like it to be. There were a number of cranes as they were building the Silica Hotel.

There's a bar there so you can order drinks (yes, alcohol) as you wade in the pool. You can also go for spa there. I'm not sure how long you can stay inside the water. I think we stayed until our fingers became pruney. And that was just about right. Because it started pouring after we showered.

Great time management. Just enough time to claim our complimentary drink as we looked at the  pouring rain. Yes, I bring rain on all my travels. 

We had rescheduled our aurora tour after the Blue Lagoon trip.

Guess what? It was postponed again. :(

20151020 Iceland with its brutal cold and series of unwelcoming events

I'm not sure how we decided to go to Iceland. Iceland is one of the countries I wanted to visit since young. The reason? I wanted to see if it's all ice there. So you can guess why I was keen to go to Greenland too.

We booked our flight for Singapore-Amsterdam-Singapore because Singapore Airlines was having a promotion. When it came to planning our itinerary, we toyed with including these countries:

1. Germany
2. Paris
3. London
4. Spain
5. Greece
6. Norway
7. Sweden
8. Scotland 
9. Switzerland 

You can tell that our geography is not very good. >_<

We ruled them out, very systematically:

1. Didn't feel like it.
2. I went there before.
3. I went there before. Twice. 
4. Far from Amsterdam.
5. Far from Amsterdam.
6. Mac meal costs SGD17.
7. The only Swedish things we know are IKEA and meatballs. Not really. It was expensive too.
8. Not sure what we need to get around.
9. Expensive.

We figured that since we were going to one of the cities in the northern part of Europe, we might as well visit Iceland. Who would reject the chance to see the aurora or pretend to be Ben Stiller in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?  

So Iceland it was.

We considered, very briefly, to do a self-drive. The gravel protection insurance made us drop the idea. And the fact that I am a driver on paper only. :P

We were fixated with airbnb. We didn't even consider staying in hotels or inns for the trip. I think we thought we would cook a lot. It wasn't that hard to choose our accommodation in Reykjavik because of its description.

Let's go back to Day 4, the day we flew from Amsterdam to Reykjavik.

A few airlines offered flights and we chose Icelandair. Remember to verify the check-in baggage the flight includes to avoid getting rude shocks and exorbitant surcharges when you reach the airport. Icelandair allows 23kg check-in and a handcarry. It costs around SGD600 for the round trip, which is not cheap.

We bade Amsterdam goodbye. As usual, when the two of us travel together, we reach places way too early. We checked in with more than enough time for a meal and a kopi and repeat.

Caffeine fix.

Burger with fab chips.

Chicken sandwich with yummy mayonnaise. 

Actually, our timing was just nice. Do not underestimate the time needed to cross customs. Besides bag scans and body scans, they also pat you down. Give yourself ample time. Ditch the jewellery and boots if you don't want to be holding up the line at the customs.

If you are on Instagram, you would likely have seen many cool things Icelandair posted. It's destination marketing at its finest.

Sadly, the flight is not the best. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing terribly bad about it. It was just underwhelming. The 3-hour flight included free drinks which is not very clearly stated in the menu. We thought we had to pay so we dished out some cash. The stewardess gave us a "huh" look when we passed her the money and a curt "you don't need to pay", Nary a smile in sight. It wasn't very clean. Comfort level was so-so. I guess they tried to make you excited with aurora wannabes emitting from the roof:

Excited much? 

Hello Iceland, I brought rain!

To clarify, Iceland is a pretty rainy place. "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes" is something we see on a lot of their souvenirs.

What's your usual sequence after you have disembarked from the flight? You go to the loo, whip out your passport, head for the customs, pray you still look like the photo in your passport, grab your luggage and clear security, no?

Well, in Iceland, no. You can completely bypass the steps from whipping out passport to clearing customs/security. Coming from clean and proper Singapore, we were bewildered by this and sought out an airport staff.

"Nobody gets stamped here." she said.

Ogaaayyy... So, that's that.

The most convenient to travel into town is via Flybus. We booked prior to the trip and you can find the counter at the airport, located near the exit. Customer service in Iceland is not unlike Singapore, efficient and generally unsmiling. Most Icelanders we encountered spoke perfect English but Icelandic is still very much alive here. No need to fear communication problems at least.

Up next, SIM card.

Síminn provided us with very reliable services. 

The Starter Package cost around S$20 and included voice and data. A very pleasant surprise we discovered about Iceland is that it's a very well-connected country. This seems to contrast with the fact that the wilderness is the main draw of Iceland. Imagine trekking on lava fields, taking a selfie and uploading it onto Facebook in seconds. I went for walk at MacRitchie Reservoir once and could hardly get 2G. Gah!

The ride into town took 45 minutes and for the first few minutes, we saw nothing but lava fields. It was a very surreal feeling to be inside a bus with free WIFI and travelling along a road that is flanked by miles and miles of lava fields. No houses, no buildings and generally, no cars. The sun was going down and the only lights we saw was from our coach. I think there were street lights but they were not as densely placed as what we city kids are used to.

Then, the series of unwelcoming events started. We booked an apartment, not a hotel and the drop-off point was a hotel. After alighting, we were "welcomed" by the howling wind and it started raining. Not a mist, but real rain drops.

Luckily, our host posted lots of photos of the apartment's surroundings and I am not completely hopeless with navigation.

Sadly, the walk was down a steep slope.

Steep considering that the burger and sandwich from lunch were well-digested and that we were lugging our 20kg luggage. Oh yes, please do get a 4-wheel luggage if you are planning a free and easy trip. No porters or tour guides to help you with them.

Hoods on, heads down, luggage firmly in hand, we braved the rain. Half way down, a loud whistle pierced through the howling wind. Come on, already miserable enough. Don't ga jiao, ga jiao leh.

Opps, it was our very nice host, Bjorn, who had been waiting for us at the drop-off point. Sort of in the rain too. x:

It's apparent that Bjorn is a honest man. The apartment looks exactly like the pictures on his airbnb listing.

The beautiful living room where we spent more time than expected.

The huge telly with an extensive media library that perked up some of our sad nights. (You'll see why in subsequent posts.)

More than enough room for 2.

Nice, cosy bedroom. 

Simple, functional kitchen and dining area with a very important piece of equipment: Nescafe Dolce Gusto (comes with capsules)

Bathroom the size of a bedroom here in Singapore. At least the size of my 2nd bedroom anyway.

Unless you have no nose, you would smell the sulphur every time you run the hot water. And it's completely normal. Not the most pleasant, but normal. Rotten eggs shower. 

By then, the afternoon's burger and sandwich had completed disappeared from our guts and we needed to refuel asap. Knowing not to expect shops in Reykjavik to open as late as the ones back home, we geared ourselves to brave the rain and wind and off we went on our little trip to Kronan. Although we were in a city, this city is a lot darker when it gets dark.

The white building is a church and the supermarket is about the 4th lamp post from there. (Taken from the apartment's balcony.)

By the way, here's a good article that breaks down the supermarkets in Iceland. 

The wind hit us as soon as we left the safety of the building. It was around 4°C but the wind and rain made it feel much colder. Actually, I wouldn't know since this is the coldest place I've visited. Heh. 

They drive on the left side in Iceland so many of the road directions seemed 'off' to us. To adapt on an empty stomach is hard. To do it in the howling wind and rain with the hood blocking your vision is harder. 

We planned to pretty much eat all our breakfast and dinner at the apartment and here's the total:

That's about S$90 worth of groceries for 2. Oh, and beer is about S$1. 

They charge if you need plastic bag so bring your own if you have them. I always travel with my trusty Environsax and it has never failed me although it is getting old (about 5 years now). I do have other recycling bags but their quality and size cannot make it. I can't find Environsax in Singapore now so please, please let me know if you know where I can find them at around S$15. I know they're available via Qoo10 at S$26 but they used to sell for around S$10 and I am a cheapskate. =_=

Why did I say that we experience a series of unwelcoming events? 

1. Strong wind and real rain when we alighted = cold
2. Haven't eaten since 1pm = hungry
3. Braved the wind and rain to the supermarket = colder and wet
4. Carried the groceries back to the apartment = tired
5. Couldn't open the door = &*QBj(&!#@

Yes, the door was jammed. We turned the key this way and that. We used brute strength, we whispered pleas. We inserted the key partially, we jammed it in forcefully. Nothing worked. After calling Bjorn, we were advised to jimmy the lock a.k.a. wiggle the keys a lot. 

Finally!

Although Day 2 was the worst day of the trip, I had something good out of it. 

Instant noodles.

When you're cold, hungry, wet and tired, pipping hot and spicy instant noodles are a godsend. That and

Almondy Toblerone chocolate cake with

John Wick.

We learnt a few things from Day 4:

1. Allocate more time to clearing customs at Amsterdam.
2. Pour over the photos of your accommodation surroundings prior to your trip so you can run towards it in the event you arrive during adverse weather.
3. Bring along a recycling bag when grocery shopping in Iceland or prepare to fork out some moolah for bags. I recommend Environsax.
4. Get ready for the sulphurous smell from hot water in Iceland.
5. Make sure you have wet weather gear, a padded jacket with a hood, non-slip shoes when packing for Iceland.

Before I conclude the day, I would like to share an image of Icelandic Krona. Just because.

We changed our money at Schiphol airport. I doubt you can find many money changers in Singapore that carry Icelandic Krona.

On Day 4, we finally took a break from self-navigating and left it all up to the tour guide. At last, the famous Golden Circle Tour of Iceland!

Day 1: Amsterdam with the sombre Anne Frank House and delicious Screaming Beans 

Day 2: Brussels with its pissing boys, street art and French architecture
Day 3: Amsterdam with its red lights and pale brew

The series of unfortunate events

we've been saying we need to record this down before we all forget how 'lucky' we were. yes, all the below did happened. The weather wasn't being typically perth according to SJ. during the two years she was there, she had not experienced the type of cold we were experiencing. never mind, we love the cold we said.

on that night, we wanted to club. on! its the last night in perth and we HAVE to do something. we made plans to head out with her friend to one of the few clubs in perth: metro.

since samuel's car can only take 4, including the driver, and there's 5 of us, it was decided that adrian and i will go to the club first. if we're going to run straight into the club, then theres no need to wear jacket rite? adrian left his at our rented apartment.

once at outside the club, we huddled together while waiting for samuel to return with SJ and JT. the wind was howling but the place was packed. after a while, we noticed something unusual. the crowd consisted mainly of students. as we shivered in the howling wind, we heard them speaking to one another:

"good thing we got the tickets early! i think its sold out now"

WHAT TICKETS? and what do you mean by sold out? hmm... getting strange...

finally, i saw the poster outside the club. there was a bash tonight. crap... if bashes there are anything like bashes in singapore, you get what i mean.

we called the gals and told them the bad news. too late. they were reaching soon.

before they could explain to samuel, he had dropped them off and went to find parking. more power, SJ was wearing spag top with short skirt. and seriously, the wind was unlike anything we had experienced before. BUT it's never too cold to camwhore!



after standing around in the wind for 10 minutes, samuel finally came back.

"what now? where to go?"
"there's this other club we can head to... a little messy there but we're out to club. should be about 15-20 minutes ride away only."

it was decided. we are going for club II (cannot recall the name la). since SJ was in her minis, we graciously decided SJ and JT should take samuel's ride first. something we would come to regret very soon. very regret kind...

once the trio left, adrian and i sought refuge behind the pillar. image this: the entrance to the club is up a flight of stairs and there was no effective shelter outside the club. essentially, this:

while we stood there with our arms crossed, we heard a strange, unfamiliar noise (unfamiliar when you're in australia, the driest continent on earth). *pit pat pit pat pit pat*

RAIN!!! NO! MAKE THAT A DOWNPOUR!

heng right? the wind was making it worst by blowing the rain horizontally at us. big, fat droplets hitting you like people throwing fishballs at you. crap. it was getting really bad, we stood there for about 15 minutes. samuel should be back right? 16 minutes. where's samuel? 17 minutes. what's taking them so long? 18 minutes. come one! 19 minutes. did they head straight home? 20 minutes.

cannot tahan already! we went up the stairs, ready to enter the club for some shelter. once on the steps, we folded our arms and stood as still as we could. You know, if we move, we will may move the air more and get colder? :) waited and waited and i caught sight of something flapping on the ground. a $10 bill! that's like $12 in SGD? i pointed out to adrian.

"eh, $10 leh"
"so? i'm not going to move. nice and slightly warmer now"

we stood on the steps, watching the bill flapping.

FINALLY! after 30 minutes of pure (cold) agony, samuel returned. we ran into the car, plopped ourselves down and heaved a huge sign of relief.

"how come the 10 minute became 30?" we asked quizzically (not good to be rude and make your driver angry ah)

samuel pointed to the road block just ahead. Aha!

as we passed the road block, the police waved us on. he recognised samuel. As if we didn't have enough problems, samuel blurted back, "you sure i haven't been drinking?" +_+



arrived at burswood casino, still cold, still wet, and getting hungry. hopped into the toilet and ATTEMPTED to dry off.

while waiting for everyone to convene, we were witnessing lots of people having a great time in an irish pub. looks good i thought. but i never thought that this will be a place that will revisit later.

never mind! let's hit the CLUB!

strangely, the club was not within the casino. we had to brave the wind and walked to the club. could this be the start of our good luck for the evening? NO QUEUE!!!

we swaggered up, ready to party the night off (what's left of it).

STOP!

huh? samuel was stopped by the bouncer. bouncer pointed at his shoes and shook his head.

COME ON! NO SNEAKERS?!?!!!!!

by now, you can imagine the filthy, filthy words that are going through our minds. samuel offered to head home to change while we enter the club.

NO! WE CAME TOGETHER, WE'RE GOING IN TOGETHER!

it was too cold to stand outside arguing with the bouncer. we adjourned to the casino. as we sat around the slot machines, we were enticed by the smell wafting from 24-hour cafe. eh! when you're cold and wet, it naturally comes with hungry.

the next moment, we were sitting down with a plate of fries, some hot drinks, and brainstorming on the next (club/pub/bar/anywhere with alcohol) destination.

remember the irish pub? yes, i did. we brushed off the fries crumbs and headed for it. 1am.

TMD! the pub was closed at 1am! bouncers were standing there, barring our way. one miserable drink can?!

miserable, cold, wet and tired. we stomped around the casino and the hotel looking for a lobby lounge, a hotel pub, anything! none. naddah. zilch. +_+

let's head for the club outside the casino again!

By the time we got there, guess what? It was closing and no longer admiting anyone even for one bloody drink! Its simply not our day or night rather!

By then we were truly defeated. we decided to xall it a night. Hopped into a cab and headed back to the apartment. While Adrian was paying, the 3 of us girls alighted from the cab. Just at the gate outside the apartment were two guys. They were what you would call under the influence of alcohol. As if we had not tried hard enough the whole night to get a drink, these two boisteriously offered their bottle to rub it in. 

After some dodging, we made it back to the apartment. The unfortunate events did not end there. Since I caught some rain, the group graciously allowed me to shower first though I am sure that everyone just wanted to wash the swayness away.

When I turned on the tap, no hot water. Just when I was cursing and swearing, someone screamed "noooooooooooooooooo!!!" As if a mortal sound had been dealt. 

We had no internet.