Europe 2019 - Day 29

4 June 2019, Tuesday 

Today is another travelling day, to the Czech Republic. It is a really long bus ride, from 11.15 a.m. to about 7.15 p.m. 8 hours on the bus which is ok. My longest journey yet on a bus is 25 hours, from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Lima, Peru. 

So today I say goodbye to Poland. Our stay in Poland was longer than expected thanks to the horrid Belarus. I like Poland. It’s a country full of tragedy in the past, starting with Nazi Germany invading it in 1939 and then being ‘given’ to the Soviets by the Allies after the war. But it has proudly grown out of its dark past into a lovely country with its budding economy, up to date infrastructure and rapid development, while still maintaining many of its township the way it was since time immemorial - the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, for instance.

The people are generally nice here, although not many people speak English so communication is sometimes a problem. But I think the younger generation are taught English so in time to come they have the potential to become a leading nation in the world, I think. I don’t think there’s a lot of immigration happening here because I don’t see a diversity of people - for the most part it is homogenous in terms of race. I do get a lot of stares everywhere I go, since the day I arrived in Warsaw, to Gdansk and until I left Krakow today. Good or bad, I don’t know. 

Whatever it is, I leave Poland with fond memories and a quiet respect for their strength and resilience in pulling through some tough times and coming out on top. 

I almost finished reading one of the books I bought in Berlin on the long bus journey, in between Candy Crush, chatting with a friend via WhatsApp (wishing her Selamat Hari Raya which is today - away from Malaysia it is really easy to miss the festivities; here in Europe life goes on as usual in oblivion to the rest of the world) and snoozing. We finally arrived in Prague close to 8 p.m. and we got tram tickets to go to our hostel, which is 14 rides away with no place to sit on the tram, so my left shoulder aches a bit now from having to carry the third bag which has somehow emerged from this trip. 

After checking in we walked around the hostel to find a place to eat, and the only thing which looked inviting was a Chinese restaurant so I had fried mee hoon for dinner and a Budweiser beer (that was the only beer they had there). The hostel room is really nice, there are 3 beds - a double and a single and my friend wanted the single so I have the double bed all to myself. She has a thing about sharing a double bed. But she claims she is easy going (roll eyes). 

Anyway I’m really stuffed today. So much for losing weight on this trip!