A great Nordic Adventure

A relatively easy overnight bus ride from Oslo to Trondheim on a clear night with the full moon shining above. No sight of the elusive Aurora Borealis. The only light coming from the guy beside me busy chatting away to his mates on his laptop, with the occasional giggle always so often. I did the same myself after a while trying unsuccessfully to get to sleep; catching up on the missed episodes of Heroes.

7am sharp, the bus whizzed into Trondheim bus station. Useful that it is directly beside the train station for me to catch my next onward journey to Fauske. (In case you are wondering why did I end up taking the bus, read my previous post). The sleepy town was just waking up to the streaks of sunrise coming through the horizon. Grab a packet of fresh buns from a very friendly man over the counter wishing me "Happy Easter" and hop onto the train. The train on this leg between Trondheim and Bode is clearly less busy as there are less carriages and the state of the interior is older than ones that I have been taking before.

As usual, I attracted a few additional glances from the locals not used to seeing an oriental in this part of the world. Just after Trondheim, the train pulled up against the station "Hell" - I wonder what and how do people live in this place! (I was just kidding, I am sure the words do mean something in Norwegian). The journey up north was nothing short of spellbinding. One moment, we were at sea level, the next we were hurtling up the mountains with deep ravines precariously beside the tracks, then through miles and miles of white flat plateau, occasionally dotted with a red hut or a skier huffing and puffing across the Arctic tundra.

Apparently there was some problems with the food delivery for the train resulting in no food available at the kiosk. The train master was kind enough to offer free coffee as apology and even ordered pizzas for the passengers which were collected along the way. Had my first cup noodle left behind by my mate from his last travel - instant noodles never tasted that good before, although on hindsight I should really have kept it for my siberian trip but I am on a vengeance to reduce as much weight on my shoulders as possible after a painful strained right shoulder that wasn't too happy carrying all these load. Although the good news is that my soles have recovered enough to walk properly after much rest from sitting on the trains/bus.

Few miles past Mo i Rana, we officially crossed into the Arctic Circle, past the Latitude N66'33.705, and very much still heading towards the pole. Few hours after, I dropped off at Fauske, an hour from the last station of Bodø on the Norwegian rail tracks and waited for a bus that will take me to the tiny town of Narvik. If Lonely Planet was to publish a "Top 100 bus rides before you die", I bet this bus journey will be one of the top few listed; no pictures of mine are able to portray the magnificence and brilliance of the Norwegian engineering feat - winding roads up and down the peaks, through miles of tunnels within mountains so huge that you wonder how can it be possible. 5 hours of pure adrenaline, with the only exception being the bus going onto a ferry crossing a fjord that the engineers probably felt that is the most sensible option for that part of the journey. One will be amazed how accessible this part of the world is even with such daunting natural wonders. The ferry ride was a refreshing change, with the snowy peaks against the blue skies that was just turning dark, and the bone-breaking winds blowing across your face.

We arrived in the small town of Narvik after the driver drove like formula one to catch up on lost time from been stuck behind several cautious cars driving in the complete darkness. The hostel "Spor 1" - which literally means "Track 1" is conveniently located 100m from the station, beside, as you guessed it, the railway track leading to the port where iron ore is still be transported out. A shower after 3 days on the roads was very welcoming and a night sleep on a proper bed feels like a long time back.

The Swedish/Norwegian (the 70 year old mom was born in this town, the son in Trondheim and the grandson in a town outside of Stockholm) in my dorm room were very friendly and gave me on some ideas to spend the day, whilst they heading up the mountain behind the town for some skiing. Also got to know later that the son did the trans-siberian rail himself too 20 years back but in the opposite direction as the one I am heading. Oh, did I mention his mom is also skiing?!?! It's amazing how people in this part of the world keep themselves so healthy and fit; can't imagine my mom going for a run with me, let alone speeding down the mountains.

The guy reminded me of Lofoten, a group of islands at the far edge of the Nordic fjords, where time literally stood still for centuries and fishermen still live there in their colourful huts, air drying herring and cod catch for centuries. Unfortunately I just miss the 5 hour bus by 10 min when I got to the station, which was quite disappointing but I guess there is only so much I can take in and maybe this is something to bring me back to this part of the world again. Instead, I took a cable car up the mountain where families were spending the Easter holiday, having picnic and just enjoying the glorious sunshine, and of course, the incredible view of the fjords as far as the eye can see.

Still no sign of the Northern Lights. Guess one really have to be extremely lucky to see one at this time of the year when it only turns dark so late and the skies are more often cloudy instead of the clear freezing weather that it needs to encounter this natural sight. At least I managed to get a bed for the night stay,even though it was a really dodgy one - my keys say "TV room", and it literally was a tiny space with 2 fold out beds which I will amaze me if it can really fit two in there. Even then, still costs me NOK200 after I tried in vain to ask for a discount based on the fact that it wasn't really a dorm! Chatted with a nice Finnish guy who is working as a polar guide in Santa Claus town of Rovaniemi who is in town to enjoy the skiing. People around here are really friendly and it's a refreshing change to find good sensible folks in hostels instead of kids whose aim to live seems to be getting themselves drunk every night and sleep in during the day.

The next morning, I bid farewell to my new-found friends as they wish me luck for my upcoming long journey as I cross from Europe to Asia. Oh, and why do they always have to remind me of the movie "Trans Siberia" all the time? It's not like I have any russian dolls in my bag! :-)

Travelling in Europe on Easter Sunday is strongly discouraged - not a single shop is open and my stomach has been growling since last night as I had my 2nd cup noodle in 2 days. Had to watch my spending as I have easily spent a quarter of my planned budget so far. Everything is just ridiculously expensive in this part of the world, and I have still Sweden and Finland to pass through! Did not help that the train kiosk refused to accept my remaining Norwegian Krone coins since it is operated by the Swedish rail although they did accept notes. Reluctantly ended up paying over the top for a small sandwich, coffee and orange juice using debit card.

It started to snow as we crossed into the swedish border of Riksgrasen station high up in the mountains. The trees seem to be grasping for air as the thick coat of snow is at least a few metres deep. Winter doesn't seem to come to an end this north, in fact, it looks like it has just started - you jump off the train, put on your skis and you're off. Cars or shoes are useless in this part of the world, it's how the Scandinavians have lived for thousands of years.

The mountains and fjords slowly transform to flat plains of arctic wilderness as a lonely moose lazily looked back at the bewildered stare from me as it trooped off across snowy land. Probably my closest encounter to this incredible animal which reminded me of my conversation with the Finnish guy that they go around hunting these animals in Lapland and their meat is especially delicious in stew, chewy if you do not cook for long enough. The train stopped for 20 minutes in the town of Kiruna, the source of the iron ore that is delivered to Narvik and Stockholm on rails twice a day. We continued south, heading towards the imaginary line of the 66 degrees, ever closer to the Finnish border.

Switched to a connecting bus at Lulea, the last stop of the journey after another 7 hours on the train, followed by another 2:20 hours to Haparanda, the Swedish border town where I had to walk pass the huge Ikea, across to Tornio, the Finnish town across the motorway to catch another bus to Kemi to get onto my train to Tampere. Alas, I completely forgot that Finland is another hour ahead and bus schedules are severely reduced from the Easter holidays. It's no fun walking around a completely unknown town close to midnight in freezing weather, disoriented and starving. Checked into the only B&B for €30 after accepting that I will not be going anywhere tonight. On the positive side, I get to have a room to myself. Have to scale back my plans tomorrow as the bus and trains are reduced service for the holiday, hopefully everything will be better; Happy Easter all!

Note: Photos from my Norway adventures

Danish to Swedish to Nordic in a day

I do not sleep alot, but 4 hours is probably too little in this case. Took 35min walking unusually slow on my slightly blistered toes to Copenhagen Central train station, snaking by the canal and the tip of the red light district. Pleased with myself for spending all DKK36.50 of my remaining coins on apples, bananas and a ham croissant - not a single Danish amount left, which helps from the ever growing coin pouch that contains the little bits left of my previous trips. This city is really big on 7-11, you find one at every other corner of a main street, helps if you have to grab something at 5 in the morning.

First day into my 5 day rail pass, which I thought was really easy to use - you just fill up the date of your travel and show it to the inspector that keeps popping up to check after every station. The train sped by the airport and across the bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden - another piece of amazing human engineering feat that spans across the entire channel separating the two lands. In the distant, I could even make out a massive wind farm in the middle of the Baltic sea, trying to lift themselves from the morning fog. The 30min journey to Malmo central ended up to be twice the length as the train hit some problems and had to reverse back into another station for all the passengers to hop onto another.

The sun was coming up on the horizon as I strolled past workers on the morning rush hour. Headed to Lilla Torg, to find Pronto cafe beside a lovely old phone box recommended by Richard. Alas, I was too early, the only people up this early being the folks replenishing the beer drums of the restaurants and bars in the square. A short stroll around and my short Malmo experience has come to an end. Glad that everything in Nordic region can be paid by electronic - guess they have to if their stuff are that expensive! Caffeine fix sorted out by trusty Nationwide card that doesn't charge me for foreign usage; at least not till June if I remember correctly.

The 9.03 am train to Oslo, via Goteborg was really comfortable, considering this is equivalent to the regional trains in our context - seats wider than Ryanair, individual reading lights and radio, and even handy power sockets although the angle was a abit weird since it was hanging off the ceilings above the seats. At Helsingborg, had to run off to the first carriage before it split off to Goteborg. 3 hours in, we arrived in Goteborg, extremely modern looking connecting to the bus station that made Victoria bus terminal look like prehistoric. Grabbed a Subway sandwich and jumped onto my next train to Oslo, another 4 hour journey across the Swedish west coast. Operated by the Norwegian train company, NSB, the carriages look and feel like Eurostar's business class, except for the food and champagne, but nonetheless made me feel that I have basically got half the value back from my £240 railpass.

The journey to Oslo rekindled the reason why I am taking this trip again - tracks going through mountains (not massive though), crossing tiny towns, overlooking frozen lakes, etc - how did the rail engineers do all these? The first sight of snow sent my heart fluttering again. Been a visual person - I am always the first to choose a window seat, on flights, bus or trains, you cannot ask for anymore better than this. Listening to Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" from the "Into the Wild" soundtrack makes me so look forward to even more from the few weeks. Norway is definitely going to be even better. The leg to the Arctic Circle is a huge unknown, the ride across Siberia is going to be heaven or hell.

I had 5 hours to see Oslo before my overnight train to Bergen and managed to catch the main sights in town, highlight been the Vigeland Sculpture Park, with tens if not hundreds of unique sculptures of family interactions. Look carefully at every of them and you will realise that there is not one that is the same, and the unique aspect is that each portrayal is so real life. The Oslo bay wasn't as beautiful as I thought as the day has been overcast mostly, with the sun struggling behind the thick clouds. Had enough time to pop into a pub overflowing with Liverpool supporters for the Champions League match against "yet again" opponents Chelsea. Really disappointed that the Reds went 3-1 behind by the time I left to catch the train after a brilliant opener by Torres. Promise myself not to let this affect my trip - *trying my very best!!!*

Paid additional £5 for a standard seat for the overnight train, with a sleeper costing a ridiculous £160 on top of my inter-rail pass!!! Ended up on a carriage full of school kids returning from some excursion back to Bergen - my earphones cum earplug are proving to be really useful, passive blocking of at least 80% of the ambient noise without even playing anything.

Woke up on multiple occasions through the night, not the most comfortable train ride but I guess I was just getting what I paid for. Kept an eye to the full moon sky for any signs of the elusive Northern Lights but the only thing showing up was clouds, and more clouds. Arrived at Bergen 6.30am, with my next train leaving for Oslo at 7.50am. The skies were raining quite heavily, not the kind that you get in the tropics, but heavy enough to put you off most things. This is one of those annoying things that you have to get used to when travelling between winter and spring; well, at least Bergen seems to always bear the brunt of the Atlantic front blowing across UK (I noticed this during BBC's weather forecast, you will notice that the west coast of Norway always rain every other day).

The journey back is to take me to Myrdal where I will change to the well-known Flam railway. It leaves from Myrdal at 863.5 metres and goes through 20 km of tracks, and over 20 tunnels drilled directly through the mountains before reaching sea level Flam town, which is a Fjord port accessible all the way from the North Sea. I had to pay additional for the tickets as they were not covered by the Inter-rail pass but did get 30% discount off the original value. It's quite an amazing engineering feat and I definitely recommend anyone to take it if you plan to come to this area, but include some hiking in between and the journey will be definitely be better mine! Boarded the 12.25pm train back to Oslo, another 5 hours through Europe's highest plateau - the Hardangervidda, a flat plain completely covered with pristine powder even at this time of the year. Loads of people get on and off along the various stations and you can see them doing cross country skiing on the giant white sheet of snow, which was so hurting to eyes under the best sunshine I have so far on this trip.

Found out that there were no overnight trains on the eve of Easter - DARN! how can I forget that? Luckily, there was an overnight bus heading to Trondheim, but cost NOK49.50. The frustration of last minute travel suddenly hit me again with my poor planning. Because of my change in plans to improve my chances of seeing the Northern Lights, I decided to head further up north to Narvik, I decided to pay the premium and not want to regret not trying after going so far (Lesson learnt from my last trip). So it's going to be another of train and bus ride tomorrow, and let's hope I will be able to find somewhere to stay in the town, where I really need a nice shower after 2 days on the road.

First stop - Copenhagen

On way boarding the SAS flight, 3 women in corporate attire were chatting in front of me. "Where did get this laptop bag?", asked the 1st woman. "You just have to fill up a form from IT dept and I got it the next day", she replied while in the middle of a furious twiddling of the tiny keyboard on her blackberry. "Oh, that's brilliant, I will do the same when we get back", she shot back and immediately started to scroll on her own blackberry. At this point, the 3rd woman immediately opened her bag and took her blackberry out and started her own "crackberry" addiction. It was really quite funny seeing this interaction and the responses from each person from behind.

Arrived at the capital of Denmark just after lunch - everything seems so organised and structured; a far cry from the Heathrow airport that I left behind 2 hours back. Checked into Sleep-in-Heaven, a 15min walk from the Forum metro station, for a 14 bed dorm, that looked more like a scene from WWII - they stack up to 3 beds in each. Can't complain much as it was the cheapest (£18/night) I could find in the city. Anyway, food and drink is basically 50% more expensive than UK, especially with the current poor rates, so beware! Headed out straight after dumping my bag, only to find out that find that the 2 museums that I wanted to head to - Gallery for Doodles and Danish Design Center - are both closed today! Even then, I managed to clock my longest distance covered in a day so far - 22km! And my feet are really hurting, not sure why though as my shoes should have been very well-conditioned by now. My last stop to the Little Mermaid statue was marred by some rowdy punks doing some disgusting poses to the naked statue and climbing onto it - the ugliest side to tourism. Oh, and not forgeting a trip to the self-governing Christiania, no pictures allowed though, unless I don't wish to get out alive...

Need to sort out my planning for my Norway rail journey, still unsure if I should make my way to Bodo from Trondheim or even as far north to Narvik, and then make my way from there to Rovaniemi in Finland, although the rail doesn't connect all the way on the north of Sweden to Finland; will probably have to find a bus to get into the Lapland - Any suggestions from anyone who are familiar? I have to admit that I have only planned 30% of this entire journey, and leaving the remaining open-ended - exciting but also quite stressful considering that my dates are so tight since my dates in Russia are fixed. Oh by the way, no guidebooks for majority of this trip as well besides Estonia and Russia! And thanks for all your lovely tweets, gonna miss you all too, make sure you come visit me in sunny S'pore :)

Stupidly early morning 6am train to catch to Malmo tomorrow for a few hours to soak in the city before moving on to Norway's capital. Glad to have my amazing shures with me for this trip, time to go to bed.

Link to pictures from Copenhagen (not many to show)

Goodbye London

With much sadness and nostalgia, I am finally leaving this British capital for good (at least for now), embarking on a month and half journey through Arctic landscapes and the great Russian wilderness to my little home country call Singapore. It has been an amazing 4 years plus of my life, and nothing compares to the journeys and friends that have crossed my path during. Stay in touch and do come over to visit me if you have a chance...ciao for now.

Counting down to next adventure

I attended my last Fulham home game against Liverpool at Craven Cottage yesterday. Very strange as I am a out and out Reds fan but have adopted the boys in white by River Thames as my London club since a few of us chipped in to share few season tickets. The atmosphere was electrifying, with the usual 20,000 odd West-enders trying to out-sing and out-muscle Liverpudians from Merseyside by on and off the pitch. It seemed to be one of those days of "dominating and not getting a result" again after hitting the woodwork 4 times in the first half. Even the man in black was taking pity on Pool with some of the decisions that were given. Alas, a 92nd minute winner from Yossi proved to be the decisive break although I had to tone down my wild celebrations considering that I was sitting amongst the Fulham faithfuls. Poor Whites, it was a bitter blow that's football and frankly, it can only be good for the league although our bitter rivals had lady luck on their side again to win 3-2 against Villa today, thanks to an exquisite goal from a teenager today - Football is cruel...

Did my last minute packing and planning of places to stay along my "long way home" journey after a morning trip to the Columbia Flower Market, with breakfast at Terence Conran's Albion along the way. Little arty farty shops and cafes dotted around the market makes it the interesting bit, especially if you are not at all keen to carry pots of plants back to your tiny london flat. Tomorrow is my last day in the capital, strange feelings going through my mind today, think I will miss the place, the freedom and all my friends in town. Regardless, I have spent a great deal of my last 4 and half years in this part of the world, but on the other hand, I do very much look forward to the my trip across Scandinavia, into the Artic Circle, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive Aurora Borealis, before hoping onto my greatest adventure dream since arriving in London - the Trans Siberian rail journey across Russia, stopping twice along the way before Mongolia, and finally ending up in Beijing. After which I will find my way down Southeast China to home, in any transport besides planes.

I will be continuing to update my adventures online where possible, although I suspect I will be offline a lot more since I will be on the train most of the time. A Ukranian mate warned me against drinking too much vodka with the locals on the train - if you do not hear from me for 10 consecutive days, you know who to call.