Back to Greece - 24/05/06

Yasas amigos!

Here is the beginning of my series of travellogues again. It has been a long time since I wrote something on Vietnam back in 2004 but I am back! And for those of you who are new additions to my travellogue list, this is just a way for me to stay in touch with you guys and girls and perhaps, whet your appetite to come to Greece yourself and partake in my experiences here! Feel free to drop me a mail and give your feedback!

Was last here on my birthday in October 2004 when I was in the midst of a job change from UBS to ABN AMRO and today, history seems to repeat itself since I will be having a role change within ABN and moving to HK for work (for those of you who do not know yet). So, this time, in addition to catching up with some friends whom I met in Greece, I will also be meeting up with my dive friend from Phuket and take an Advanced Open Water Diving Course in Crete! Hopefully, my colleagues in Singapore can afford me the leeway from all the madness that is going on there so that I can go to Corfu to dive as well (my Greek friend said that this is one of the best dive spots in Greece with great visibility).

This will also be a great time for personal reflection since the secluded breathtaking scenery of the volcanic calderas in Santorini and the gentle lapping of the waves of the pristine blue Corfu waters just brings forth that inner serenity and one just feels that the whole world comes to a total standstill and all there is, is just you and God...

Anyway, today has been an uneventful day and it was quite a rough trip here to Athens for me since I had to take a 5.30am flight from Singapore. As usual, my promises to myself to sleep early came to naught when I stayed out for a late dinner with some friends and later came home to do some last minute research before my plane took off.

The plane ride was not all that great since there were so many Middle Eastern passengers on the same flight (I was flying Gulf Air) and they were really quite boisterous, with all the kids wailing, middle-aged women talking loudly, a ME man beside me intruding into my pesonal space with his arms across my arm rest, etc. Considering that I was severely sleep-deprived for the past month or so, you can imagine how I felt. That said, I tried my best to ignore all these and thank God, I was able to sleep more or less soundly throughout the entire flight.

Mission No.1 after landing at Athens was to take a bus to Piraeus port (the main port in Athens linked to the rest of the Aegean) so that I can catch a ferry to Crete. It was a slight struggle to get up the crowded bus as many fellow travellers had already staked their turf with their trolley luggages (the package holiday Brits and Aussies!). Yours truly was heavily laden and just as I spotted a corner to drop my duffel bag, this middle-aged Greek lady came up to me and fired off a volley of Greek gibberish which I totally could not comprehend. The hapless-looking me then looked to another younger Greek girl whom I thought could translate what the other woman said and I learnt that she actually meant that I could not put my stuff there as she was to sit in the seat next to it. So much for Greek hospitality! Luckily I have had good experiences with other Greeks or I would have attributed this to racism (well, I had a long flight and the temp was a scorching 35 deg).

Anyway, I am to take a ferry real soon and perhaps, I will update you with more interesting experiences in the week ahead. Till then, andio! (goodbye)