Like those flashback movie, I will conclude the Iceland trip first. Mainly 2 points. First, I learn that mother nature can be ironically amazing and merciless, wows us with the incredible formations which prolly contribute to making studying Geography interesting for me in sec sch and more wows with the display of the aurora borealis in the starry night; yet she can, at free will, give rain for 5 min and then sunshine for another 5, before dropping hailstones on earth, causing people to run for shelter, then it changes to snow for the next entire hour. She can create sudden gust of wind and they come at full speed such that the ski resort has to close and evacuate all skiers back down. In the wind, the sand was hurled at all, it is as if we had gone through punishment. ouch.. so we are lucky to have experienced all these, and they do not appear in the first 5 days, maybe a little of it, of the ever changing weather and we learn that there is no need to plan to go on a trip in good weather as the plan will never be materialized. so luckily we stayed long enough to get a taste of what the Icelandic people experience there. we were told that we missed the worst storm in Iceland in a decade or so as the day before we landed, all flights were cancelled and everybody had to stay indoors. But well we manage to catch the strongest geo magnetic storm in a decade on 17 Mar so as to see the northern lights in the form of an angel, really super wow.
that was a long first point. the second point, Icelandic people are resilient people and they are always prepared. the above is explanatory I hope. their attitude in life is different, they accept, well they had to, and they adapt. feel ashamed comparing them to myself, too sheltered, that's why we have the luxury to complain. weather is not the only thing they do not complain about, have seen some people interactions, or maybe they complain behind their backs haha I dunno, but I thought they handle the situations well. the style of coping what appears in life is applicable, and of course they are very friendly and hospitable, and very keen to learn, judging from the questions they ask the foreigners. very smart people I thought, and they are fluent bilinguals too. anyway I salute their attitude in life n I wish to learn from it. the beauty of travelling really, grateful to have the chance for the exposure, learn more things than anywhere else if you are pursuer and with the willingness to integrate with them.
11 Mar , 3-4pm - we arrived at the capital of Iceland finally, after the 24-hour flight including transiting time at Helsinki and Stockholm respectively. I cant recall how did we manage to kill time already. breathed in the first breath of fresh Icelandic air the moment we got off the flight, and we got picked up by a cab driver to the fosshotel baron. nice room with its own stove for cooking. so we jus stroll abit in town and went to the supermarket to see what they sell.
12 Mar 9pm - picked up at hotel by reykjavik excursion. drove a lot. the usual package tour with lots of on-the-road hours. but then prolly no choice cos the places are really far apart. it is like 4 stops of max of 1 hour each but the duration of the whole day trip is from 9 - 6pm.
11am - reached the geothermal heated greenhouse where they grow tomatoes and with bees to help in pollination plus producing honey.
12pm - reached the Geysir Spouting spring. walked around the icy area and waiting patiently for the geyser to spout water from the ground every 7min. just before the water gushes upwards into the air, the water in the pool form a super big bubble , all ready to spurt upwards. there are many holes there, but leave one active. for some of the other smaller ones, can still see steam from the geothermal water pots.
2pm - the famous Gulfoss, Golden Waterfall. Brrr...so difficult to even take out the gloves to take the pic using the camera. my beanie got blown away!! the snow was really thick, and while I was thinking which path to take to retrieve it, a kind man offered to help. aiyo the wind is so zek ar, it blows the beanie away as he was bending over to get it such that he had to chase after it. feel so apologetic but he joked that no trouble on this side, but I wouldn't try to get it if the wind blows the other way and he pointed towards the other side where the waterfall is. hahaha..
4pm -
Þingvellir (it doesn't start with a P, it's Icelandic character, translated to Th) National Park.
we suspect it is nicer in the summer, and I googled, proven so. anyhow, I guess like japan, the landscape brings different beauty. for some of the mountains in Iceland, we were grateful for the snow which enhances and bring brightness in contrast to the black basaltic rocks and prolly some green from the moss or other plants.
then finally back to the hotel where we went marketing and made our own dinner.
