The voice inside my head

dang i realise some of my captions from my europe post weren't saved :/ oh well, too lazy to edit.

today is my last day at work (intern)!! but i definitely messed up by accidentally leaving my earpiece at home. sobs. the silence has never been so stifling. this is why i'm blogging - cos i can't listen to music. LOL

this has been such a filler period in my life, what with everyone asking me why i'm interning at this place when i've alr graduated, and me not really having a good answer.

although i definitely have not done or learnt much, i guess i did what i could; it's better than staying at home and not earning any income at all.

grateful for meeting really nice colleagues (the whole office of about 10-12 people lunches tgt every day - is this normal?) and nice fellow interns (well mainly jx, my fav co-worker cos he's the only one with a more messed up sense of humour than me)

the exposure to office life was also smth i needed i think. in all my previous jobs i never really had a typical 9-6 office job, but getting used to this sedentary lifestyle is smth i have to do sooner or later.

anyway, i think i just wanna say that i'm in a really good spot in my life now, and i'm... grateful? tried to think of another word for grateful since i've used it so many times, but nth else seems to fit.

i'm going to sign my letter of appointment tmr, and the next week i'm just gonna nua at home. LOL. my last break before i finally commit to my job! excited for what's to come, and also a lil nervous.

here's to adulting :')

Stay home

Greece & Bulgaria 05 Jun - 19 Jun

Mykonos, Greece 05 Jun - 09 Jun

Athens, Greece 09 Jun - 13 Jun

Sofia, Bulgaria 13 Jun - 18 Jun

Munich, Germany 18 Jun - 19 Jun

Flew alone from SG to Athens 04 Jun late at night!
Took the Scoot 11-hour direct flight, which wasn't so bad?
I woke up 8 hours in and didn't believe my eyes at first when
I realised there was only 3 hours left.
No food though :/
Sat next to this european couple who insisted I take a packet of biscuits from them :')

Reached and waited 7 hours for Jiams' arrival at Athens airport :/
It felt like forever. I finished a book that I brought while waiting

!!

This accidentally-taken photo looks better than the next one which looks like
we were strangers who happened to meet and chat on the bus 

Ferry to Mykonos island!

Got quite boring after dark tho

Finally reached our airbnb after walking along dimly-lit
streets terrified for our lives cos for some reason,
there are no pedestrian pavements in Mykonos.
So we were literally walking next to cars zooming past.
Also had our first catcalling experiences that night.
So yes, everything was bad

Pretty morning views though
Also it was hot affff.
Went out in jeans and realised it was a bad idea
so I went back and changed

Crazy food portions

What I left behind :/ we definitely should have shared

<3 td="">

Windmills of Kato Milli

Caught the sunset at one of the beaches

More beaches
Forgot the name of this one (either Psarrou or Platys Gialos)
but it was crowded affff

Found a spot in the shade by the water

Love the water!! Jiams wanted to jump in

This salmon tagliatelle stole my heart

Jiams ordered a hamburger (which is what was written on the menu)
but the server told her the hamburger has no buns LOL

They were giving everyone this free dessert.
It tasted... weird. It was superrr wet, idk why.

There was a problem with our room or smth,
so the guy asked if he could move us to this more expensive place.
It turned out to be quite nice and big, and he drove us there
and the host of that place drove us to the ferry port as well,
so I guess we struck a good deal. 

The place was also right next to Agios Stefanos beach,
which we hadn't explored yet, and also that meant it was
super convenient to go for a swim, which we did!

(I must be the only person who comes to a beach resort island without packing slippers)

Free car ride to town too (cos the place was v far from town)

Back at the windmills 

We were searching for this gyros place to grab dinner,
and at the same time lamenting how sad it was that
we didn't get to see Petros the Pelican, a bird that
lives on Mykonos and hangs around the town area.
And then we rounded this corner, and bam he was right there.
Super lucky!

He's yuge

Gyros... one of the few things I might miss about Greece

And probably the chill vibes too

Our last sunset on Mykonos

View from our airbnb main area

Free coffee/tea

And then it was bye Mykonos!!

My somewhat underwhelming first photo of Athens LOL

More gyros

Look at how sweaty I am after removing my cap
The heat was rly no go

Reunited with ET!!

Climbed up somewhere where there was a view of the Acropolis

Also many rich-looking msian chinese trying their best to take the perfect vacation photo

ET kept saying she loves my face in this

How they survive in that clothing sia

Cute outdoor cinema where they were showing only one movie- the latest Jurassic Park LOL

I had to wear a jacket to cover my arms cos I was having
the worst breakout of rashes I'd ever experienced. I looked diseased.
But still it was way too hot for jeans, I cannot. LOL

So many cafes everywhere

Monastiraki

Paid 25 euros to enter the Acropolis.. not sure if it was worth it hm

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Top-down view of the Theatre of Dionysus

Parthenon!
It was crowded as hell

Barely managed to get this photo without anyone else in it of ET

View of the Acropolis from the National Archaelogical Museum

Attempted to sneak a few pics of exhibits but security was everywhere and really strict about it,
so didn't manage to get any good shots

Went to see the changing of guards at Syntagma Square 

Idk how they cope in that uniform, it felt like 35 degrees that day

Flew at night to Sofia, Bulgaria!

Our airbnb host MIA-ed and only got in touch after an hour -____- really terrible.
We were left standing with our luggages in the rain at 1am.

But anyway, me and Jiams were quite afraid when we saw this huuuuuge dog
approaching strangers in the distance.
We spam-called the hosts while ET started talking to the dog and patting it,
and then when our hosts finally picked up and we started walking over,
the dog followed us!

Well, more like followed ET I think

Our protector :')

Had to leave him outside the Airbnb tho, and we never
saw him again. His face when he was looking through the glass
at us was so sad :(

Woke up bright and early to go to the Seven Rila Lakes

The journey to the lakes was pretty insane.

First we had to walk half an hour to the bus station,
then take a bus to a nearby town, Dupnitsa,
then change bus to go to another town, Sapareva Bania,
then take a cab from Sapareva to the chair lift station,
and finally take the chair lift to the lakes.

Honestly though, it was so worth it when we finally saw the lakes.
One of the most spectacular sights I've ever seen

At the chair lift station

Finally at the foot of the lakes!

It was superrr misty at first

Took shelter from the drizzle at the Rila Lakes hut
and got a leek soup that somehow reminds me of Scotland

What a view LOLOL

This was what it was like before the mist cleared :/

We walked for ages toward the first lake ("The Kidney") using Google Maps.
Kept saying "It should be right here" until we realised
we had been walking downslope and we were at the edge of the lake omg

The water tasted amazing

When the mist cleared out of nowhere, I think I got goosebumps

It was seriously beautiful

Reached our second lake, the Twin! (Cos it's two lakes joined tgt)

Lake #3 (I think it has no name LOL)

The treacherous walk back down to catch the last chair lift.
Slipped way too many times - it was raining on and off 

Can see the chair lift in the background

Such an adventure!!

Next day: St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral

Prolly the most famous Sofia attraction

ET and I took a bus to the outskirts to see the Boyana Church, a UNESCO world heritage site

This is the church itself... pretty unassuming

Only 10 people are allowed in at a time to preserve humidity levels inside
And no pics allowed :/

Stopped at a vineyard for a break

Accidental shot that looks nubbad

Next stop: Rila Monastery, another world heritage site

Post-lunch, when the skies finally cleared

Some of my favourite murals, although I can't rmb the guide's explanations anymore :/

I think this one has smth to do with the devil tempting farmers of the land into sin or smth

On our way back, we had to get off and walk across this stretch of road
cos there was a landslide :o

Photo taken mid-crossing.
Two seconds after I took this photo, we heard the sound
of rocks crumbling above us, and the police shouted at us to run.
That was prolly the first time I ever really ran for my life...
Thank God it was just a few smaller rocks, so nth happened.
My legs felt weak after that tho.
HAHAHA

How can smth be both cute and sad at the same time

Trout!! I loved trout since I first had it in Morocco, but I've never seen trout on the menu in Singapore.
Jiams and I were both amazed that ET still ate trout too after she got food poisoning from fish. LOL

Buildings I do not remember the names of

St. George Rotunda, considered the oldest building in Sofia (built by the Romans in the 4th century)

Back at the St. Alexander Nevski Church since we passed by

The Little Things cafe
Nice food, decent coffee

Was excited for my first synagogue but..

"Open for visitors Sunday to Friday" and we went on a Saturday :'((((

Skies finally looked good again after an afternoon of showers

We realised that we could see Vitosha mountain from our airbnb

Cooked dinner

Went on a free food tour the next day! Apparently the first of its kind.
This cold soup was actually pretty good

This pastry tasted kinda weird... a lil sour/smelly but I think it's supposed to be liddat

This was yummy 

Different kinds of cheeses on bread

Vitosha Boulevard was v atas

Cakey Bakey - got an almond cake which was way too sweet for me

Onward to Munich!

Separated from Jiams in Munich :( (ET left for her pilgrimage in Spain from Sofia)

Was hoping to just get some food at my hostel and call it a night,
but my hostel had no food!!
Ventured out to the next street, which was full of arabs and blacks...
I walked as fast as I could and gobbled down dinner at a kebab place
so I could get back to my room before dark

The hostel (Wombat's City Hostel) was very nice, clean and chill though
Shared a room with 5 other women and we had our own bathroom
which was gr8

Buffet bfast for 5 euros
The best thing was the soy milk though, it was surprisingly tasty

Neues Rathaus (new city hall)
At first I thought this was the Altes Rathaus cos it looks so old and gothic

St. Peter's Church
I walked in here and sat down to rest,
but a few minutes later a priest entered and said
"Please turn to page 302 of the bible" in german
Everyone stood up and they all started singing.
Then I realised I had accidentally attended mass..
I left once the priest started going around with the donation bag.

Walked around Viktualienmarkt

Back at Marienplatz to catch the 11am Glockenspiel
Cute but I got bored

Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Ghost)
I actually liked this church the most cos the rows are connected
rather than separated which is quite unique? I've never seen this in any other church.

Then it was time to go home.
This was my meal for the Munich to Doha flight

Apparently there were a few flight delays at Doha airport,
so I was stuck there at 2am with a lot of disgruntled arabs,
indians and chinese... my hair says it all

Doha to SG flight was super empty and everyone slept
across rows of empty seats so I did the same.

Also, was kinda alarmed to see the plane so low to
the sea as we prepared to land. LOL

Europe was gr8, but I think it's made me appreciate SG a lot more.

People are much kinder and generally a lot more pleasant to deal with. We get to have things so easily here too - it's so easy to just go out and buy something you need, and you get it super fast too.

And while I generally like the slow pace of life, there's smth about Europe that's... almost cold?

I didn't feel that way while I was in Germany (ironically LOL cos everyone thinks Germany is cold af) and I loved all the German cities I went to, but I did feel it in some other cities in Europe, not just in Athens/Sofia but in places I went to on exchange as well.

Sofia wasn't anything like I expected though. People were wayyyy nicer and less shadier than they were in Athens, and the scenery was so gorgeous. It was also nice and cold there, while Athens was burnin' up.

Okay, here's the end of a rare longass post with photos

Hopefully more to come cos it's quite easy to upload photos with this Samsung phone hehe

BYE