27/08/07
woke up and we decided to skip the swedish class! headed to the culture hse in town to ask abt tix to stockholm. everything was done in a flash. 2hrs we were back in sch havin lunch @ STUK and then 3 hrs later we were at the trn stn already! it takes a very thick skin to eat at STUK because being of different skin colour makes us easily recognisable and when we pull stunts like sharing a meal between 2 ppl and then refilling it, it definitely screams for attention haha.
we left on the trn for stockholm @ 457pm. it was a testing 14hrs ride. esp when the seats are so cramped and we couldn't slp well throughout the night. shuffle our bodies and squirm in our seats to find a comfy posture.
28/08/07
finally reached stockholm @ 745am. thought it would be warmer since it's further south n it's inland. shit happens cause it was raining and strong wind was blowing across the city. then worse still was the trekking to find a hostel. tried chapman but was expensive, then went to this red boat but was fully occupied and finally found refuge in Gustav of Kings! it is a ferry parked by the coast. there's only 1 toilet in the whole ferry but there are 3 shower cubicles in the toilet. 395kr for 1 nite of room & 1 nite of dorm. we needed to rent bensheets and pillow cases too! it's a practice in sweden for hygience purposes! shocking..
no breakfast, no lunch but on we go to purchase tix for island-hoping ferry rides. boarded the 3pm ferry to this island called Grinda. 2hrs journey..and it was disappointing because it was pouring and winds were howling. super cold and there was nothing much on the island. ran into this lady in her 40s who happened to be a self-claimed inventor. then she wanted to contribute her idea to SIA, an efficient engine which saves fuel. wuuhuu. then was back on this nice ferry. we sat on the 2nd lvl and got to observe a beautiful sunset plus chat with the lady about life in sweden and singapore. saw the big round moon hovering above stockholm when we reached the harbour.
treated alan to max as it was his bday on the 28th. happy bday dude. it was 89kr in all but just eat lor..haha..satisfying meal after a long and tiring day.
29/08/07
woke up to a bright sunny day! the perfect weather for some island visiting. but had to wake up super early at 7 to catch the ferry @ 830am. had to pack up n chk out of our rm as we were staying in the dorm on the 2nd nite. the ferry ride to finnhamn was 3hrs! sit until backside pain. but it was worth it! spectacular scenery. u hav to be there to experience it. climbed rocks n cliffs, hiked through the mini forest and the highlight of the day, ck and alan diving into the water! super cold but they sure enjoyed it haha. was in the mood to explore the whole island unlike ytd. but time constrain~~! so we headed back to main land and saw this beautiful rainbow after it rained..ice! haha..
had this encounter with this swedish man. he introduced us to some thai restaurants and said if we mention his name and do what he wrote on a note for us then we will get half price. claimed that the chefs are his clients. then later said what went there earlier to ask for job. sounds dubious and we checked his note with other ppl along the way and in the end we decided not to take the risk. better to be safe than sorry. he sounded sincere initially but towards the end a bit of pleading as he kept reminding us to go to the restaurants and do what he said. weirdo..too friendly for us.
so we toured the city for shopping places and haha we stumbled upon this hotdog vendor! 25kr for a huge and delicious hotdog sandwich. it was like..a life saver for us haha. promised to go back before we leave the next day. toured the Old Town. gave me the feeling of italy with its labyrinth of alleys and bricks. living it~ got this guy who was posing as a statue, he posed in the guise of an angel. so cold lor but he wearing so little, just a piece of cloth around him. salute sia..
sweden has cute roads. 1 for bicycles, 1 for buses and 1 for other vehicles. so when u cross the road, u have to look out for bicycles 1st, then bus and finally cars. haha. went back to our dorm and there was this brazilian guy called daniel. he plays soccer! too bad no soccer ball haha..
29/08/07
packed up everything to explore the city. b4 leavin, we talked to this jap lady who stunned us but tokin in chinese! turned out she stayed in shanghai for 1.5yrs. 1st time see a jap fluent in both eng & chi. good weather too. we had 12 hours to burn b4 boardin train @ 1012pm. back to old town, shopping malls and lunch @ BK. used the student card for a 10kr discount. wondering if we use 4 cards will it be 40kr?? bought a scarf @ 149kr..happy haha. we managed to spot the singapore flags being flown near he opera hse! haha ck tried saluting it and taking pics but everytime he tried that the wind just din cooperate with him. then there was this marching band. they were frm the military if nt wrong. marching towards the erm..palace or some sort of royal place. haha. change parade.
tired legs and tired souls. we had a pit stop at this church. the followers were singing when we arrrived. their voices were crisp and harmonious and echoed around the walls. soothing. proceded to the train station and waited at the macdonalds. first time watching the uefa champions league draw for group stage LIVE~ haha. nua there for close to 5 hours..amazing..and as promised we went for hotdog one last time! xiaomeng even had a 2nd helping! haha. there was this protest going on in the center of the city and turned out they were protesting against the swedish government of sending refugees back to afghanistan. makes me think hw lucky we are.
and back to lulea we were on the train. this time round the train was better although still the same seats but at least got better ventilation and space somehow. haha. looks newer too.
