When I first learnt the name of this country when I was young, I always mixed it up with the word ‘hungry’. OK, laugh but I believe most of the kids who first hear it will associate it with hunger because food is one of the most important things in their little lives. I was just a normal kid.
Anyway, so Mission Impossible took a few shots here at the famous parliament. That means, the parliament was a must-go. LOL!
The overnight train took us to the border of Czech Republic and Hungary at sunrise. It was a beautiful day. The train was very crowded so all 3 of us were in different compartments. That was good. I had some private hours.
I booked a B&B knowing that the other two were not that accustomed to hostels. But because Hungary is not an expensive country, it was ok for me. When we arrived at the B&B, it was very early. The receptionists just woke up, I think, and the rooms were not ready. We left our luggage with them and walked around.
When we went back to the hostel after our long walk, we saw another receptionist. He explained to us that the building survived the wars. The holes were actually bullet holes.
The next morning, I went out early to visit a church. The other two weren’t interested because one of them is Sikh and another one is an atheist. So, you can imagine, it wasn’t a good combination. Europe is full of churches and I love visiting them and even attend mass there. That’s why prior communication had to be done. It was just tiring for me. Common interests. That’s the key. I don’t mind doing this kind of things at work but when I travel, I want to relax. Anyway, it was good that I had, again, some private hours.
So, I went back to the B&B and surprisingly, the guy was still sleeping. I was like, ‘do you come here to sleep or to travel?’ I honestly didn’t want to wait for him. If you are travelling for a long time, it’s fine but we were there for a short time only. It was ridiculous. I think I was just too responsible and too nice to anyone. I could have just left them in the B&B and walked around by myself. Sometimes you choose to travel with some other people because you want to split the costs with them. This didn’t apply in my situation here. What I am trying to say is I didn’t have to travel with them at all because there were no costs that needed splitting. We went Dutch and there was no group discount because our group of three was just too small. Argh! Wake up! Good grief!
Finally, all of us finished our breakfast and headed out to…
The parliament! Of course. 😊
There was a long queue outside the parliament and we had to wait for a long time so I started talking to some people in the queue which is something that I usually do when I travel. Some people say Americans love talking to strangers. I don’t agree. It’s not just the Americans who love talking to strangers.
Finally, it was our turn to get in.
Every visitor had to join a guided tour. The tour guide was very knowledgeable.
House of Terror houses the history of the country. It was a very good one. We spent a few hours inside. Highly recommend anyone who wants to go to Hungary to visit this museum.
After that, we caught the last guided tour session in the State Opera House.
My friend wasn’t impressed. She said, ‘there are many opera houses like this in Europe.’ She had been living in the UK for quite some years. The guy was impressed. He had never travelled like this before so maybe he had never visited an opera house with a guided tour like this before. I honestly don’t know how he travels. And I? I was impressed by the tour guide. Her presentation skills were very good.
My friend suggested we finished for the day. It was their last day in Budapest so the two of them chatted happily. I was happy too. First of all, my friend was very funny. She joked about different things. The guy started talking a lot to her. He was annoyed by me and likewise, I was annoyed by him. He probably forgot that I was the one who planned all these, booked all the tours and researched all the accommodation (my friend later claimed that she did all the research but she didn’t have the evidence. All our prior emails showed that I did everything. She just clicked on the links I sent her to pay for her own beds. Hahaha! When I asked her to refer to our previous email, she became very annoyed.) and I was like a tour guide looking after them. I didn’t get any credits or any appreciation from them. The guy even gave me that ‘annoying’ look on his face every time he looked at me. He forgot he was just tagging along. In the end, when my friend thanked me, he then said ‘thank you’ reluctantly. That’s why I was happy – that they were leaving and I could finally enjoy myself the following day.
So, there you go. I know I complained quite a bit in this blog, but I need some outlet as well. Phew. I feel better now. LOL!
Remember the photo of the female statute? My plan was to climb up there on my last day in Budapest. But before that, I attended mass.
I walked past House of Terror again. This time I took a better photo.
It was actually still quite cold and windy that day. I chatted with some other backpackers and we helped each other take photos. I remember talking to a girl at the top of the hill and she told me about her study and so on.
I was myself again.
It’s nice to travel with someone sometimes. It tells you who you are, what you like and dislike and you get to know yourself better.
I like being myself.
The next adventure would change my life.
Stay tuned.
5 – 8 April 2012
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