A hot sulphuric bath

Got up and Mayumi was already all set to leave for another remote Hungarian town before she got an email to meet her friend in Budapest. Jeez, I thought I was making last minute plans, she was even more last minute than I thought! :)

As there isn't much else for me to see in town, I decided to head out to Harkány which is famous for the thermal baths since the 18th century for a nice dip in the chilly but sunny morning. Walked to the nearby bus station and paid 450 Ft for a 45min ride south close to a tiny little town/village off the borders of Croatia. Accidentally walked into the spa resort through the back gates (which was opened!) without paying and ended up been escorted by the pool guards to the official entrance to pay. Apparently the waters here have the most sulphuric content in Hungary and famed to be medically good for people.

After paying 1900 Ft which I found later that I was quoted double the price since I was only using the public bath area, I soaked myself into the comfortable 33 degrees water that smells horribly bad. Reminds me of the last and only time when we enjoyed outdoor thermal pool at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, only that this is not as good, and there is no special mud to apply on your face or body. As you might have guessed, I was basically surrounded by seniors and I think I was the youngest person in the pool until a little boy came along with his dad. A fitness instructor of some sort came along after and with the help of some very relaxing music, began to get the whole pool into some chilled exercises and stretching, which was very well received by the crowd.

By 12.30pm, I was back in Pecs bus station walking back to the hostel to pick up my bag. Stopped by a kebab place Oazis on way to the train station and had one of the best kebab wrap ever (2nd only to those that I had in Istanbul), and only costs 550 Ft - highly recommended! Bought a train ticket to Zagreb for 5180 Ft from a lady at the counter who took so much pride in her work that she was meticulously using a ruler to cancel out sections on the ticket above her extremely neat headwriting. Got onto a train full of students going back/somewhere for the weekend. Passed by large swaths of greenery as well as snow covered fields as the weather struggled to decide what it wanted to be. Stopped by a village called Gyekenyes, which was effectively the border between Hungary and Croatia. Waited for my connecting train for an hour and half before boarding the final train to Zagreb. Had my first passport stamps by the border guards as they inspected the train with the huge guns and dogs! I guess the "rotten eggs" smell from my thermal bath played a part to turn the dog away immediately!

Arrived into Zagreb half an hour later than original due to the long checks at the borders and spent another 30 min before getting to Hobo Bear Hostel which was in the intersection of the Upper and Lower Zagreb, about 800m away from the main Trg Jelacica Square. A bunch of backpackers from down under taking advantage of the 10 KN (€1 = 7.5 KN) local beer during Friday happy hours. Paid my outstanding for the 1 night stay and dropped my backpack off in the room before shooting out for a quick walk around town.

Surprisingly, it was rather quiet on a night leading up to the weekend. Unlike some of the cities that I came across, this was tame compared, which also means that there wasn't much option for dinner as well. Since it is expected to be a short stay in the capital, I did not want to draw too much kunas and ended up in a Italian place behind the hostel with a massively huge Funghi pizza, which did the job of overloading my hungry stomach, and not much else. No night shots tonight as the weather turned really chilly and felt like -5 degrees under the snow fall and lashing winds.

Following the Danube into Hungary

Got up at 7am, washed up and got ready to catch the 8.25am train to Budapest. Ashley looked at me with dreamy eyes when I bade her farewell and trotted along to Westbahnhof train station under the increasingly heavy snow fall. Paid €50.20 for the train to Pecs via Budapest, which is the most expensive transport that I have paid so far. Bought a baguette and another bad coffee for breakfast before the train started the 3 hour journey to the Hungarian capital.

Many including myself before this trip have probably not heard of Pecs (pronounced paich), but this sleepy university town is due to take over the European Capital of Culture from Vilnus come 2010. As I have been to Budapest and my other option of going to Lake Balaton doesn't make sense during this time of the year, this town sounds like the perfect "stay-away-from-tourist" location for me on my way down south.

The train rolled into Budapest's Keleti train station at 11.30am and almost miss my connecting InterCity train operated by Hungary's MAV leaving at 11.45am. From there, it is another two and half hours over flat plains to the south of the country, beside the borders with Croatia. On arrival, you can really sense the "local-ness" of the place, I seem to be the only traveller carry 2 huge bags, let alone an oriental one that doesn't look a bit like everyone else. Booked a night stay at Nap Hostel Pecs in the middle of the Town central and it was a quick 15min walk from the train station.

Once checked in, was told that I was the only other 2 people staying in the hostel - so far, all the hostels were pretty much full, even Bratislava had more people than this! Tamas Szep (owner) gave me a map of the town and pointed out key sights that I shouldn't miss. After an hour and half, I was already walking along their "high street" looking for food to eat. I do feel that the weather is not doing any justice to the place as it should be very pretty come spring or summer. Stopped by the local supermarket to stock up on my snickers bar supply before heading back to the hostel for a rest. Tamas later recommended me to this restaurant cum bar called Traffic within a cinema called Apollo, which was just a short walk away. Had a fusion type pasta with fried vegetables and lemonade and only cost 1400 Ft (€1 = 300 Ft), so cheap!!! I didn't stay for the DJ gig that was been setup since I thought of having a quiet night after.

The Japanese gal, Mayumi, came back late in the night after going to Harkány for a thermal bath in the afternoon followed by a music concert in the university. Chatted briefly as she was struggling a bit with English but was so courteous and kept apologising when she couldn't find the right word. Found out that she is student in Tokyo living in Shinjuku and travelling around Europe for 10 days - she chanced upon Pecs as a place to get away from after she quarreled with her travelling mate in Vienna!

Some of you asked me why did I stop couchsurfing - well, I think with more time and planning, I do like to arrange for more CS but the need to find a buddy and await for their responses, the arrangements to meet up, logistics on staying in the flat, etc make it very difficult for me on a trip like mine as I kind of plan my next cities as I go along. I do miss the knowledge and warmth that a host can provide, especially after my 2 amazing experiences in Vilnius and Warsaw, but I do feel that going to a hostel might be the best option for a tight backpacking trip like mine as it allows me the flexibility of finding one that is as close to the sights as possible to save me time on travelling, as well as making last minute decisions on when to go back/leave.

Link to all photos from Hungary.

Eventful weekend trip to Budapest

Such was the experience I had in Budapest over the weekend, that I can't help but laughed at myself when I think back. It wasn't the best start that anyone would like to have at the beginning of any vacation to realise that all your keys have fell out of your baggage during the transport, including my flat keys, office keys and keys to my bicycle. Since there was nothing that I could do, and only had less than 2 days to enjoy the best of Budapest, I headed straight for the bus, and change to the metro, which was relatively cheap (but make sure you buy both tickets at the airport for better deal).

First stop, Prima Hostel, very cheap @ less than £8 for a night in room of 4. Since I only needed a bed for the night, it sounded just the deal I needed. Room was basic with promised breakfast that did not arrive the next morning (and had pretty bad bed bug bites after). Will only recommend purely based on price consideration and location. First stop is the most classic looking MacDonald outlet that I have come across, directly beside the Nyugati train station, preserving absolute classical architecture and design. I was intrigued and had to get a Happy meal and was kindly served by Ronald himself.

After filling my stomach, it was time to head towards the Margaret Bridge that strandles between Buda and Pest, with the south tip of Margaret Island connected to it amid the mighty Danube River. The evening scenery was amazing as the many building lining along the River was nicely lilted up. You get the feeling that every street is filled with some surprise waiting to be discovered and every restaurant round the corner is waiting to have it's famous goulash to be tasted. Together with the zero degrees, it certainly feel special to some degree, very European but less the tourists.



Dinner was definitely the highlight of my trip as I stumbled onto Firkasz, near to the Margaret Bridge, setup by former journalists (as seen from the memorabilia all over the walls within. An English speaking diner kindly recommended that I am definitely at the right place whilst I was looking at the menus. It proves to be an excellent choice as I had one of the best goulash that I ever tasted (not that I had any before this), and excellent Hungarian wine, affordable and cheerful. Mains was duck breast, with some strange vege that you have to pay separately for - Nice but too much for me.

I headed to Castle hill the next morning and popped in a bookshop to buy some stamps to send a postcard to my gf, only to discover later that I have accidentally left my wallet in the shop. This was really the twist to trip which was otherwise quite enjoyable. Thinking that I had been pickpocketed, I back traced my route to the point just before the bookshop and eventually headed to a police station nearby to report my mishap. With no cash in hand, I was pretty gutted that I can't enjoy the spa baths of the world famous Gellert Baths, and worse of all, getting back to the airport for my flight in 3 hours. I did manage to hope on a few trams and bus without paying to accelerate my journey and was glad that I had a peek in the Gellert baths after the manager took pity on me (see flickr photos). When the time arrived, I had to sneak onto the metro and bus again to get back to the airport and did the same on the DLR/tube after landing at London City airport. The pouring weather that greeted me and not able to get into my flat was probably not the best ending one like, but was eventful after all.

p.s. I was lucky to get back my wallet after the shop owner returned it to my country's consulate although the courier cost me £40 to get it back! But all is worth when I think back at how careless I was, at least it wasn't my passport that was lost :P

See all my photos in Flickr.